Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark - Finland in EURO 2020, as the game was suspended but then restarted after he was taken to hospital, and now he has spoken for the first time.
[ MORE: EURO 2020 hub ]
Eriksen, 29, is still undergoing tests in hospital as the Danish star was led on the ground and was unresponsive after falling down when the ball was played to him at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.
UEFA confirmed that Eriksen has been ‘stabilized’ and transferred to hospital, as the game restarted at 2:30pm ET. Finland beat Denmark 1-0.
Eriksen has confirmed he is feeling ‘fine under the circumstances’ and is looking forward to supporting his teammates for the rest of the tournament.
What is the latest?
In a post on Instagram, Eriksen said the following:
“Hello everyone. Big thanks for your sweet and amazing greetings and messages from all around the world. It means a lot to me and my family,” Eriksen said. “I’m fine - under the circumstances. I still have to go through some examinations at the hospital, but I feel okay. Now, I will cheer on the boys on the Denmark team in the next matches. Play for all of Denmark. Best, Christian.”
A message from @ChrisEriksen8.
— DBU - En Del Af Noget Større (@DBUfodbold) June 15, 2021
♥️🤍 pic.twitter.com/WDTHjqE94w
Eriksen’s agent, Martin Schoots, has previously told Gazzetta in Italy that Eriksen is in good spirits but the Inter Milan star wants answers about what happened.
“We spoke this morning [Sunday]. He was making jokes, he was in a good mood, I thought he was well,” Schoots said. “We all want to understand what happened to him, and he does too: the doctors are making some in-depth tests, but we’ll need some time.
“He was happy, because he understood how much love he has around him. He received messages from the whole world. And he was particularly struck by those in the Inter environment: not just his team-mates who spoke to him in their private chat, but also the fans.
“Christian won’t give up. Him, and his family, want to make sure that everybody receives their thanks. Half the world contacted us, everyone was worried. Now he only needs to rest, his wife and parents are with him. Even tomorrow [Monday], he will remain under observation, maybe Tuesday as well. But in any case he wants to support his team-mates against Belgium.”
[ MORE: “We should not have played” after Eriksen collapsed, Denmark coach says ]
Eriksen remains in hospital undergoing tests, as the Danish FA confirmed his condition is stable.
The Danish team doctor Morten Boesen confirmed that Eriksen had suffered a cardiac arrest.
“He was gone. We did cardiac resuscitation, it was a cardiac arrest,” Boesen said. “How close were we to losing him? I don’t know, but we got him back after one defib [defibrillation] so that’s quite fast. The examinations that have been done so far look fine. We don’t have an explanation to why it happened.”
What happened?
In the first half the game was stopped and Denmark players stood around and sheltered Eriksen as he received treatment on the pitch.
Players from Denmark and Finland were in tears, as the stadium in Copenhagen fell silent.
The officials walked off the pitch along with the Finland squad, as Denmark’s players stayed on the pitch to shield Eriksen from view.
Eriksen was then carried off the pitch and the game was suspended by UEFA before it restarted.
Fans stood in disbelief in Copenhagen and the soccer world prayed for Eriksen.