Heart attack footballer Muamba enjoys kick-around with children as he admits he'd love to go on Strictly Come Dancing

It is the game that very nearly killed him but Fabrice Muamba simply could not resist a kick-about when he visited some disabled youngsters for Children In Need.
The former Bolton and Arsenal midfielder was forced to retire from the sport after he collapsed and had to be resuscitated on the pitch during a Premier League match seven months ago.
But during his visit today he was desperate to get his foot on the ball - despite doctors telling him it was too dangerous.
In an interview with the Radio Times he admitted he would love to test his fitness in other ways, especially on Strictly Come Dancing, adding he turned down ITV rival Dancing on Ice because 'it is more dangerous than football'.

Can't resist: Fabrice Muamba takes to the field just seven months after he collapsed and nearly died - only the second time he has kicked a ball since then

This was only the second time he has kicked a ball since his cardiac arrest, he said.
The Zaire-born 24-year-old, who married last weekend, was technically dead for 78 minutes but was brought back from the brink after repeated shocks from a defibrillator which re-started his heart.

 

'I was approached to do Dancing On Ice, but I had to say no. That's more dangerous than football,' he said.

Shocking: Fellow players and then Bolton manager Owen Coyle watched on in floods of tears as Fabrice lay stricken on the pitch

Retirement: A sad Muamba, happy to be alive, but distraught that at only 24 he would no longer be able to play football again

Happy ending: Fabrice Muamba married his girlfriend Shauna last weekend, who has been by his side throughout the traumatic past seven months

Feature: The interview can be read in this week's Radio Times (pictured)

'My insurance definitely doesn't cover that. But I'd do Strictly Come Dancing. I love my salsa, so I'd be well up for that.'
And to show he has truly got back to form he took part in a game in Kent with children who have disabilities and special needs as part of next month's BBC Children In Need activities.
'It's only the second time I've had a chance to kick a football since I had my cardiac arrest,' he said.
'I'm just excited to play. I've been given a second opportunity in life.'
He said he saw playing with the children as a 'second chance'.
The former player, who came to the UK when he was an 11-year-old refugee, said he finds it frustrating that his health woes have stopped him from returning to a career in football.
But said that he did not 'carry fears' as before, adding: 'I was gone and I couldn’t take my car with me, I couldn’t take my wallet, I couldn’t take anything.
'I always had hope I could make a comeback. I get pretty angry at the moment when I watch and can't do anything.'