Reo-Coker was one of the closest players to Muamba when he suffered the cardiac arrest that almost claimed his life.

In fact, Muamba had just rejected an offer to drop deep and allow Reo-Coker to slip into a more attacking role when the former West Ham man noticed his team-mate had gone down.

"It feels like a lifetime ago," he said.

"I remember him running back and collecting a half-clearance from one of our centre-backs.

"I was facing our right-back position, turned around and saw Fabrice on the floor. I thought there had been a collision but then I realised there was no one close to him.

"He was shaking. I thought he might have been having a fit but I didn't realise how serious it was until the physio got there and I tried to help him turn Fabrice over."

The speed at which Muamba received medical attention has earned widespread praise. For his team-mates, it was a scene of total devastation.

"Emotions were everywhere in the dressing room," said Reo-Coker.

"We've got a very young team and a lot of them were in tears. There was nothing you could say. One minute you're playing a game, the next he's lying there.

"There were no signs. Nothing. We were all powerless. It was in the hands of the medical department and God."

And slowly, information began to emerge.

"We were waiting for news from the ambulance and heard he'd been shocked six times," he said.

"I spoke to the doctor and his heart wasn't beating and I feared the worst.

"We didn't know whether to go to the hospital or head home. When I closed the door, I didn't pick up the phone to anyone. I couldn't think straight.

"It's an experience you never expect or want to go through. It's a life-changing experience. It just shows how precious life is."

And so the waiting began, through the dark day on Sunday, the uplifting news of recovery on Monday, the visit to the London Chest Hospital with Darren Pratley and Mark Davies to see Muamba on Tuesday.

"Darren and Mark had been very affected by the scenes," he said.

"I saw the relief in their eyes after they had seen Fabrice. They just felt so much better.

"We were in for about a minute, maximum.

"We'd already been told he'd got his memory and could recognise people.

"He said, 'All right Nige'. He was obviously not speaking so well because he was still a bit drugged up.

"He asked what happened and I couldn't answer him. I was too choked up.

"To see him lying there with all the tubes was tough.

"He's still in a very serious condition but just to see him after what I saw on the pitch and the news we got in the dressing-room - for your heart to stop beating for that long - just to be alive and recognise anyone, it's a miracle."

And enough to make Reo-Coker and his team-mates believe they can do themselves justice against Blackburn at a sold-out Reebok Stadium tomorrow.

"I am ready to go," he said. "I know I will be fine. I know that edge is there.

"To see him alive was such a weight off my shoulders. That gives me the fighting spirit and knowledge that I will perform on Saturday.

"But I need to make sure the young players are ready. To go through something like that at such a young age, there is no knowing how it will affect them.

"There might not be anything now but maybe there will be something in the long term."

Reo-Coker has the added responsibility of wearing the captain's armband, and delivering the pre-match talk of his life.

"I don't know yet," he said. "I'll think about it in the morning because I need to word it correctly.

"We always knew we had to win anyway and for now we are literally going to play for Fabrice."

And then it will be on to Tuesday's return trip to Tottenham, and another chance to visit Muamba in hospital.

"I'll probably see him again when we go down to London," said Reo-Coker.

"Regardless of what people think about footballers, he is a top bloke.

"In my mind I am thinking 'I have to be strong because it's not about me'.

"Right now, it's about Fabrice and his family. Whatever I am going through, it's nothing compared to what the family are going through."