He’s finally back! Christian Eriksen, the captain of the Danish selection who had suffered a heart attack in the middle of the match during the last Euro, resumed training. In a video published on the official website of the Brentford team, we can see the player who recently formalized his signing with the Bees putting on his cleats. Eriksen, with his No. 21 stamped shirt, works hard every day with his new teammates.
The attacking midfielder who, since his accident, lives with an implantable automatic defibrillator, an ICD (a device placed under the skin which regulates the heart rate), gave his first interview as a Brentford player. He notably confided in the conditions of his return, he who had to pass a whole battery of physiological and physical tests in order to reassure a safe return to the field.
The Dane, who turns 30 on Monday and hasn’t played competitively for almost eight months, says he is ready to show that he is “a football player again” and seems very motivated after the difficult period he faced. An enthusiasm shared by his new coach at Brentford, the Dane Thomas Franck, who declared that his rookie would be able to play “in the weeks to come”.
“I’m not really scared, I can’t feel my defibrillator, so if it gets hit, I know it’s strong enough,” Eriksen told the BBC on Thursday. I’m not afraid of upcoming challenges and possible intimidation in the game, no. I don’t see why I couldn’t find my best level. The closer I get to a match, the more obvious it will seem to me: to be in a stadium, in a match, to feel all the emotion and adrenaline. The debut of the Dane in competition could take place at the end of February or the beginning of March.
Antonio Conte, the Italian coach of Tottenham, Eriksen’s former club, even hinted in the middle of the week that the Dane with whom he worked for two seasons at Inter Milan could, if he regains form at the end season with Brentford, joining Spurs. The proof that he may not be completely finished with the high level. “I’m the first to be happy to see him back on the pitch because we really had a really good time together at Inter,” said Conte.
Christian Eriksen’s life changed on Saturday June 12, 2021. In the middle of the Euro group match against Finland, the captain of the Danish selection suffered a heart attack. Away from the ball and any opponent, the player collapsed. It was in the middle of a circle formed by his comrades to hide him from view, that he was revived in the middle of the lawn.
A few days after the incident, the Dane had a pacemaker implanted in order to regulate the rhythm of his heart. This is also what forced him to terminate his contract with Inter Milan last December. Indeed, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) formally prohibits the practice of high-level sport for athletes equipped with such a device. England and the Premier League, on the other hand, authorize the wearing of defibrillators.
