Fabrice Muamba is showing small signs of improvement according to a statement from the midfielder's club Bolton Wanderers. A friend of the soccer star also said that he is speaking minimal words in French and English.

Muamba, 23 suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field just before half-time during the FA Cup at Tottenham on Saturday night.

Attempts to resuscitate him on the field were fruitless. He was carried off the field 10 minutes after he initially collapsed. It took medical staff at London Chest Hospital 2 hours to get Muamba's heart started again.

He has been in critical condition since Saturday.

Though his long-term prognosis remains clear, a statement released by Bolton Wanderers said that he was showing small signs of improvement.

His heart is now beating without the help of medication and he is also moving his arms and his legs, said in the statement.

Curtis Codrington, a friend of Muamba, told the Associated Press that he was speaking again to his family. Muamba had spoken minimal words in English and French, which is better than nothing.

We are all after the same objective: to see that lovely young man, who has such a fantastic smile. That's what we want to see again, said his manager, Owen Coyle to the Guardian. When you look through what he's come through in his life already, he's a natural fighter. Also, he's a physically fit young man so I think those two things will be a source of help and encouragement.

Muamba fled the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1999 with his family to escape civil war. They settled in England where Muamba went on to play for Arsenal and Birmingham before making his way to Bolton Wanderers in 2008.

We all love Fabrice, said Kevin Davies, captain of the Bolton Wanderers. I respect him hugely for coming from where he was to where he is now. He is one of the first into training and has worked extremely hard to better himself. He is always out there doing a bit extra. That is the reason why he has been so successful and has a massive career ahead of him.

Since Muamba's accident, the playing future of the Bolton Wanderers remains unclear.

The Bolton players held a meeting Monday morning about the reality of playing games in the near future. The Bolton Wanderers are scheduled to play against the Aston Villa on Tuesday and Blackburn on Saturday. While the Aston Villa game has been postponed, Bolton players are unsure is they should play against Blackburn on Saturday.

There have been suggestions that the team is not comfortable playing a re-arranged FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham in the near future.

Davies said that such questions are irrelevant in wake of Muamba's tragedy.

Decisions will have to be made but my immediate thoughts are with Fabrice and his family, he said to the Guardian. The club will take a stance on it in the next couple of days. But at the minute we want to just try and help Fabrice.

There has been an outpouring of support from the soccer community and fans.

David Beckham reached out to Muamba after reports stated that he was still in critical condition. In a show of support, Spanish team Real Madrid wore 'Get well soon Muamba' shirts before the start of their game Monday.

Fans took to Twitter to show their support under the #PrayforMuamba hashtag.

In an interview with ITN News, Coyle said the team and Muamba's family were humbled by the support they received from the soccer community and that they were positive and hopeful about Muamba's condition.

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