Wanderers ace Fabrice Muamba was last night fighting for his life after collapsing on the pitch.

The 23-year-old went down 41 minutes into Bolton’s FA Cup quarter final tie at Tottenham on Saturday after suffering cardiac arrest.

The match was abandoned as paramedics desperately tried to resuscitate the midfielder on the pitch.

It emerged yesterday they could not get his heart to start beating on its own for almost two hours The father-of-one, who got engaged to this girlfriend, Shauna, on Valentine’s Day, was taken by ambulance to The Heart Attack Centre at London Chest Hospital near Bethnal Green.

A joint statement released yesterday by the Wanderers and The Barts and London NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said: “Fabrice Muamba remains in a critical condition in intensive care.

“Fabrice received prolonged resuscitation at the ground and on route to the hospital, where his heart eventually started working.

“As is normal medical practice, Fabrice remains anaesthetised in intensive care and will be for at least 24 hours.

“His condition continues to be closely monitored by the cardiac specialists at the hospital.”

Wanderers manager Owen Coyle said: “Fabrice’s family have asked me to pass on their thanks for the many kind messages of support from not only Bolton fans, but also fans from clubs across the country and abroad.

“All our thoughts and prayers are for Fabrice and his family at this time.”

Tomorrow’s Premier League match between Aston Villa and Wanderers has been postponed.

A new date for the Tottenham game has yet to be arranged.

Thousands of fans of Wolves and Manchester United and Newcastle and Norwich fans took part in a minute’s applause before their matches yesterday.

And devastated fans left tributes to Muamba at the Reebok Stadium.

Muamba, a £5 million signing from Birmingham, is a year-anda- half into a four year contract with the Wanderers and has scored three goals in 130 appearances.

Bolton Wanderers Supporters Association spokesman Dave Blackburn said: “He cares about the club and he is a very intelligent and very intellectual man .

“Our thoughts are with his loved ones.”