A Redbridge doctor has spoken of having tears in his eyes after exchanging a joke with footballer Fabrice Muamba just days after the Bolton midfielder collapsed on the pitch.

Dr Andrew Deaner works at king George Hospital, Barley Lane, Goodmayes as clinical director for acute medicine for the borough’s hospital trust.

He was at White Hart Lane with his brother on Saturday for the FA Cup tie between Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton when Muamba went in to cardiac arrest.

Speaking today, Dr Deaner recalled turning to his brother and saying: “They’re doing CPR. I should go and help.”

His brother agreed, he said, and so the father of three sprang into action.

“Something sort of told me I should go down,” he said. “The adrenaline starts pumping when you see a cardiac arrest.”

He added: “Looking back, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the guys there... said ‘Go away, we don’t need anybody else’.

“But the whole response to the incident had been carried out faultlessly, he said.

“If you were going to make a film to teach people how to run a complex arrest, this would have been the arrest to film because everything went as it should.

“One thing after another just went right.”

He added: “He’s made a remarkable recovery so far. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves...

“As things stand, I think his life is not in danger at this time. His neurological function is looking very good but it is early days.”

Dr Deaner went to visit the player after he had woken up and recalled that Muamba was able to make a joke even that early on into his recovery process.

“I whispered into his ear ‘What’s your name?’,” he said.

The footballer gave his name.

Dr Deaner went on: “I said ‘I understand you’re a very good footballer’. And he said ‘I try’.”