Christian Eriksen Makes Return for Brentford 8 Months After Suffering Cardiac Arrest
Feb 26, 2022
Brentford's Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen controls the ball during the English Premier League football match between Brentford and Newcastle United at Brentford Community Stadium in London on February 26, 2022. - Christian Eriksen was named among the Brentford substitutes for the visit of Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday. The former Tottenham and Inter Milan midfielder is set for an emotional return to football eight months after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during Denmark's Euro 2020 match against Finland.
- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Geoff Caddick / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by GEOFF CADDICK/AFP via Getty Images)
Christian Eriksen made his return to competitive soccer Saturday, eight months after going into cardiac arrest during a match at UEFA Euro 2020.
Eriksen took the pitch for Brentford during their English Premier League home game with Newcastle United:
Eriksen has long been a top player for several notable clubs, including Ajax, Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan. He has also been Denmark's biggest star in international play for years.
After the 30-year-old required emergency care at Euro 2020 in June, however, there were concerns about whether he would survive, let alone play again.
Emergency personnel saved Eriksen's life, and he recently said he told the paramedics who tended to him to keep his boots because he believed his playing career was over.
At the time of his cardiac arrest, Eriksen was under contract with Inter Milan in Italy. He was no longer allowed to compete in Serie A due to the country's rules on playing sports with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which led to his signing with Brentford last month.
Now, Eriksen is playing once again and in a pressure-packed situation.
Brentford returned to the highest level of English soccer this season for the first time since the 1946-47 campaign, and it is fighting to keep its spot.
In 15th place, the Bees are just three points clear of relegation, and they have played at least one more match than every team behind them.
It remains to be seen how many minutes Eriksen will get, but given that he is perhaps Brentford's most talented player, he could play a big role in deciding whether the club remains in the top tier.
Christian Eriksen Thought Career Was Over After Cardiac Arrest at Euro 2020
Feb 11, 2022
Brentford's newly signed Danish player Christian Eriksen poses for photographs with a team shirt during his official presentation at the Community Stadium, in London, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. Eriksen has signed with Brentford until the end of the season, almost eight months after collapsing from cardiac arrest at the European Championship. It will be a remarkable playing comeback to the English Premier League for the Denmark playmaker, who has said he was essentially dead for five minutes after collapsing in the opening Euro 2020 game against Finland. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Brentford midfielder Christian Eriksen
said Friday he feared his playing career was over after
he suffered a cardiac arrest in June while playing for the Denmark
national team in the Euro 2020 tournament.
Eriksen, who signed with the Bees in January, described the conversations he held in the aftermath of
his scary collapse on the pitch (via ESPN).
"Being in the ambulance, I even
told the medical people: 'Keep my boots, I won't need them,'" he
said. "I said the same to Sabrina, my fiancee, a few days later.
And then I also told her it might change, if everything goes well. It
changed quickly but it was a long process to be where I am today, to
get the full green light and really be convinced that I am able to
play again."
Eriksen was playing for the Danish side
in a June 12 match against Finland in Copenhagen when the cardiac arrest occurred in the
43rd minute.
The 29-year-old midfielder, who was a
member of Italian club Inter Milan at the time, was hospitalized for a week for treatment, including surgery for the insertion of an
implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), before being discharged.
"I felt from the beginning of this
that I need to prove that you can play with an ICD, if something that
bad has happened," Eriksen said Friday. "You can return to normal
life afterwards. That is more motivation for me, to show I am capable
of that."
Professional athletes in Italy aren't
allowed to play with an ICD, so Inter released him in
December as he eyed a comeback, per ESPN.
Eriksen expressed confidence Friday his
career can move forward unaffected by the device.
"My ICD is here for my
protection," he said. "It is in because, if anything would happen
to me, there is no need for a defibrillator because I will have my
own. It is really just extra security. I am more protected here than
you guys."
He's set to take part in a training
match Monday as part of his return-to-play fitness assessment, per
ESPN.
Eriksen, who's also played for Ajax and
Tottenham Hotspur since starting his pro career in 2010, scored three
goals in 26 Serie A appearances for Inter during the 2020-21 season.
A potential Brentford debut date hasn't
been announced. The Bees have 14 fixtures remaining in the Premier League campaign.
