Eriksen's Future: He May Never Play Football Again
 |
| Eriksen appeared conscious as he was stretchered off. Pic: Getty |
Eriksen’s career has taken him through some of Europe’s most storied clubs: Netherlands’ Ajax, England’s Tottenham Hotspur, and his current home in Milan as part of an Internazionale side that won their first Serie A trophy in 11 years this past season.
His current playing future is unclear, but it appears the medical staff’s quick actions helped to avoid the most dire outcome possible.
A cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops and "Eriksen was gone"
Eriksen collapsed during Denmark's opening Euro 2020 group game against Finland on Saturday (June 12) and was given lengthy medical treatment before regaining consciousness, and being taken to hospital.
"He was gone. And we did cardiac resuscitation. And it was cardiac arrest," said team doctor Morten Boesen, who led the work in giving Eriksen treatment on the field.
Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen told a news conference that: "We don't have any explanation why it happened. The details about what happened I am not quite sure of because I am not a cardiologist, I will leave that to the experts. I didn't see it live, only on screens afterwards."
Boesen said he quickly realized there wasn’t a second to lose as the player lay unconscious, his pulse slipping away.
“He was breathing, and I could feel his pulse. But suddenly that changed,” Boesen said. “And as everyone saw, we started giving him CPR.”
| The American-based FDA states that the probability of survival “decreases by seven percent to 10 percent for every minute that a victim stays in a life-threatening arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat pattern).” |
The next 10 minutes were among the scariest to ever unfold during a match at football's European Championship. Several medics worked frenetically to give Eriksen chest compressions while his teammates choked away tears and formed a circle around the midfielder to shield the scene from public view.
“We managed to get Christian back,” Boesen said. “And he spoke to me before he was taken to the hospital.”
A cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops completely, rendering the person unconscious, according to the British Heart Foundation. A heart attack is a condition that slows down blood circulation, that the patient is likely awake for.
Read More: Who is Eriksen - Biography
Eriksen's Future: May never play football professionally again
The Danish footballer is awake in hospital, and has "sent his greetings to his teammates" while he remains under examination following his collapse in Copenhagen.
Christian Eriksen may not be allowed to play football again professionally following his reported cardiac arrest, a leading sports cardiologist has said.
Professor Sanjay Sharma, professor of sports cardiology at London’s St George’s University said UK football bodies were likely to be “very strict” about allowing him to play again.
Speaking about the incident, Prof Sharma, who worked with Eriksen during his time at Tottenham Hotspur, said: “Clearly something went terribly wrong. But they managed to get him back, the question is what happened? And why did it happen?
| The doctor who treated Eriksen in Tottenham: “He died for a few minutes, I think the end of his career has come” |
“This guy had normal tests all the way up to 2019 so how do you explain this cardiac arrest?”
But he said reports that Eriksen was awake in hospital was “a very good sign”.
“I’m very pleased. The fact he’s stable and awake, his outlook is going to be very good,” he told the PA news agency.
“I don’t know whether he’ll ever play football again.
“Without putting it too bluntly, he died today, albeit for a few minutes, but he did die and would the medical professional allow him to die again?
“The answer is no.”
 |
| Eriksen may not play football professionally again, says cardiologist |
Prof Sharma added that it would be up to both the player and the club to assess the risks of continuing to play.
“His cardiac arrest has rocked the entire nation today and that’s what happens. It’s not just them that it affects, it’s the psyche of so many people,” he said.
“The good news is he will live, the bad news is he was coming to the end of his career, so would he play another professional football game, that I can’t say.
One of the doctors who treated Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba agreed there could “only be assumptions” about Eriksen’s future.
Muamba also suffered a cardiac arrest during the FA Cup quarter-final in 2012 but made a full recovery.
Dr Sam Mohiddin told BBC news: “The cardiac arrest is a moment of extreme peril. If you don’t get someone out of cardiac arrest things are over. You will not survive.
| "I was devastated. I was watching the game when it happened and there was complete silence for 10 minutes," said Netherlands defender Stefan de Vrij, who plays with Eriksen at Inter Milan. "Fortunately he is doing ok and the news is positive. You are of course thinking about it. You wake up with it on your mind and you think about it but then you have to focus on the game and once the referee starts the game you focus on that and try to do to your best." |
 Watch The Moment When Christian Eriksen Collapsed Watch video The Moment When Denmark star Christian Eriksen Collapsed during his side’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland. |
 Who is Christian Eriksen: Update His Condition After Collapsing, Biography, Personal Life Latest Christian Eriksen condition: Denmark star has collapsed during his side’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland on Saturday, in a distressing scene in Copenhagen. What ... |
