Everyone who takes an interest in football – and also many who do not – will be delighted to hear that Bolton's Fabrice Muamba is no longer in a critical condition.

Perhaps surprisingly, in these supposedly secular times, Muamba's collapse with a cardiac arrest while on the pitch at Tottenham last weekend resulted in a wave of calls for prayer. The player's manager, the head of the Professional Footballers' Association, and star players from Wayne Rooney to Jermain Defoe, were among those making the request. And now that Muamba's health is improving, the conclusion is that such prayers have worked.

Many might suspect, however, that the footballer's incipient recovery has more to do with the fast response of the medical team at White Hart Lane, and the doctors and nurses at the London Chest Hospital. Recognition should go where it is due.