Christian Eriksen collapsed and was resuscitated on the pitch after 42 minutes in the game between Denmark and Finland one week ago. He spent seven days in the hospital and underwent surgery on Friday. On the same day, he was discharged from the hospital. He couldn’t stay away from football. The Danish superstar went to visit his friends from the national team in their training camp.
On 12 June, after minutes of terrible panic, Eriksen came back to life following CPR procedures. A defibrillator was used by the doctors and Eriksen responded fast. Now, following thorough investigations, Eriksen was impanted with a heart starter. The small device will help regulate heart rhythms. Thin wires connect the heart starter to the heart, monitoring the heart rate through electrodes. Similar to a pacemaker, the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), as the heart starter is also known, is able to ‘restart’ the heart in case its thythm can’t ensure the contraction of the ventricle. The ICD will be implanted was placed under the skin, just below Eriksen’s collar bone.
“This device is necessary after a cardiac attack due to rhythm disturbances. Christian has accepted the solution and the plan has moreover been confirmed by specialists nationally and internationally who all recommend the same treatment,” the Danish Football Association wrote in a statement, also asking for privacy for the player and his family.
Eriksen’s first words after being resuscitated: ‘Yes, I’m back with you’
Apart from the Danish team doctor Morten Boesen, another professional helped bring Eriksen back to life. German doctor Jens Kleinefeld rushed to the scene once it was obvious that Eriksen needed special medical attention. The midfielder went down without being attacked by an opponent, next to the sideline, just before halftime.
He was given CPR and responded to the first use of the defibrillator. “Around 30 seconds later, the player opened his eyes and I could talk to him directly,” Kleinefeld revealed to Fox Sports.
Kleinefeld was the first who spoke to Eriksen once he came back to life.
The medic asked “are you back with us?” and Eriksen firmly replied: “Yes, I’m back with you. For f*** sake, I’m only 29 years old!”
The player spent seven days under surveilance at the Rigshospitalet, the clinic situated less than two miles away from the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. He will continue his recovery at home.
Christian Eriksen has been discharged from the hospital. More here ⬇ï¸#ForDanmark pic.twitter.com/jzF338XiC1
— DBU – En Del Af Noget Større (@DBUfodbold) June 18, 2021
Experts fear Eriksen will need to retire from football
Christian assured his colleagues in the Danish national team that he feels fine. He asked them to only focus on their decisive game against Russia, on Monday, and not think about what happened to him. With two defeats up to now, Denmark is at the bottom of Group B. A win against Russia will push them to third place and still keep them in the race for qualification to the round of 16.
For Eriksen, professional football is not a priority at the moment. Inter’s creative maestro needs to focus on his recovery more than anything.
Sanjay Sharma, professor of sports cardiology at London’s St George’s University, wasn’t soft on words.
“I don’t know whether Eriksen will ever play football again,” he said, as quoted by The Independent. “Without putting it too bluntly, he died that day, albeit for a few minutes, but he did die, and would the medical professional allow him to die again? The answer is no.”
Until the age of 29, Eriksen’s professional career took him from Ajax (2010-2013) in The Netherlands to Tottenham Hotspur (2013-2020) in England, then to Inter Milan.
