Danish player, Christian Eriksen is unlikely to play again after suffering a cardiac arrest at the Euro 2020 tournament during Saturday’s Group B clash between Denmark and Finland on Saturday evening, June 12.
Erisken fell to the ground in shocking scenes at the Parken Stadium, soon before half-time and was treated on the pitch before being taken to hospital.
The first-round match was suspended with players from both sides in
clear distress before resuming some two hours later after Eriksen was
said to be in a stable condition.
Now, cardiologist Professor Sanjay Sharma, who previously worked with
Eriksen at Tottenham Hotspur, says he doubts the player will continue
playing football.
Sharma, professor of sports cardiology at London’s St George’s University, said football bodies and medical practitioners were likely to be “very strict” about allowing Eriksen to play again.
Sharma said: “Clearly something went terribly wrong.
“But they managed to get him back, the question is what happened? And why did it happen?
“This guy had normal tests all the way up to 2019 so how do you explain this cardiac arrest?”
Sharma, who chairs the English FA’s expert cardiac consensus group, said
there were multiple reasons a cardiac arrest could have happened, such
as high temperatures or an unidentified condition.
But he said reports after the match that Eriksen was awake in hospital were “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.”
He added: “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.
“In the UK he wouldn’t play. We’d be very strict about it.”
Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand struggled to hold back tears during his
post-match press conference and revealed his side had the choice of
finishing the Group B opener on the night or returning on Sunday June
13.
“It was more unmanageable to have to restart tomorrow. It was more
unmanageable than going back out now and getting it all put behind us,”
he said.
“I could not be more proud of this team, who take good care of each other.
“There are players in there who are completely finished emotionally.
Players who on another day could not play this match. They are
supporting each other. It was a traumatic experience.”
