Bolton lifted by improving Mumba

Owen Coyle has admitted there is no way of knowing how his Bolton players will react to tonight’s return to White Hart Lane for the rescheduled FA Cup quarter-final tie against Tottenham.

News of further improvement in Fabrice Muamba’s condition has offered plenty of encouragement.

From Coyle’s amusing confirmation that Muamba had been well enough to start watching Match of the Day, only to fall asleep with his team-mates leading 2-0 against Blackburn, to the even more uplifting bulletin from the London Chest Hospital that the 23-year-old has been out of bed and eating, yesterday’s updates have been totally positive.