Fabrice Muamba's condition continues to improve slowly, following the stricken footballers collapse at a match between his club Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, and Bolton's manager Owen Coyle has now told the BBC that he had a short conversation with the 23 year-old midfielder by his hospital bed this morning (March 20, 2012).

"There's still a long way to go but that's really positive," said Coyle, who took the player on loan from Arsenal, "Where we all were on Saturday night, at this stage I would certainly never have envisaged this improvement," he added. Coyle was one of a number of visitors who've been to see Muamba since the incident, including footballers Ashley Cole and Johan Djourou. Close friend Curtis Codrington meanwhile Tweeted of his experience of seeing Muamba, writing "He said my name. Words can't describe what I just saw. To be by his side was great."

Muamba collapsed with no players around him during the match and it took two hours to get the former England Under 21 player breathing again. The outpouring of support from the football community has been widespread and heartfelt, with messages of support from clubs as mighty as Real Madrid to minute-long rounds of applause from clubs in the lower tiers of the English league. Though his long term prognosis isn't set to be known for some time yet, it would be appear that thankfully Muamba has at least escaped death's door.