New start for heart attack victim Clarke

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The Sunderland defender, 27, was on loan at Leicester when he collapsed in the dressing room at half-time against Nottingham Forest.

Eager to return: Clarke is keen to get back into action despite his medical worries

Only frantic medical attention saved his life, but Clarke is set for an extraordinary comeback. He said: 'I'm just hoping to get back into it and get on to the training pitch, hopefully in the next couple of weeks, certainly in the New Year.

'It's been frustrating and I'm chomping at the bit to get back but the doctors have been trying to get to the bottom of it and although they know what happened, they still don't know what brought it on.

'It could be hereditary but they think that is unlikely as they have found nothing to suggest it is. It's been a drawn out process but now I just want to move forward. What happened was terrible and will stay with me, but I've got to get back out on to the pitch.

'I remember walking into the dressing room at half-time and I just collapsed. The next thing I remember was waking up in the ambulance and we were on the way to hospital and I was just wondering what had happened. It was a bit of a mad moment.

'It was shocking for me and my family. You don't expect it to happen to a footballer. Football is a great game but something like this does shock you and although it's a cliche, it does put things into perspective.

'I've been to four or five games now. I was at the Sunderland game against Derby earlier this month. It's nice to take in games because it did take me a while to get back into things, so I'm trying to take in as many things as possible.'