This exchange with Fabrice Muamba shows there is a way forward for James Taylor

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If there’s one person who knows better than most what James Taylor is experiencing right now, it’s Fabrice Muamba.

England batsman Taylor has been forced to retire from professional sport at the age of 26 because of a serious health problem – and that’s something Muamba went through four years ago.

(Rebecca Naden/PA)

Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch while playing for Bolton against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in 2012 and, though he remarkably recovered after his heart stopped for 78 minutes, he had to hang up his boots.

Muamba was one of the first to reach out to Taylor when news of his own retirement, having been diagnosed with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, which can cause cardiac arrest among young athletes, was announced.

And the message clearly struck a chord with Taylor.

After retiring, Muamba earned a BA in sports journalism and has been involved in training sessions with Liverpool’s under-21 team, as well as doing occasional media work.

What the future holds for Taylor, only time will tell but, as many have pointed out, at least he has a future.

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