Former Inter midfielder Christian Eriksen reveals he was ‘gone from this world until they got my heartbeat back’ for five minutes during his cardiac arrest at UEFA EURO 2020, but his comeback will be ‘amazing’ at Brentford.
He was playing for Denmark in their opening fixture against Finland on June 12, 2021 when he suddenly collapsed and his heart stopped.
The world stood and watched as the medical team resuscitated him, teammate Simon Kjaer organising the other players into a human shield to keep prying eyes away from what was developing into a potential tragedy.
“I can remember everything apart from the five minutes,” Eriksen told BBC Sport.
“I was told afterwards it was five minutes, otherwise I remember everything – the throw in, the ball hitting my knee and then I don’t know what happened after.
“Then I woke up with people around me and felt the pressure on my chest, trying to get my breathing back, and then I woke up – I opened my eyes and saw people around me, I didn’t really understand what was going on.
“At that time I had no idea what had happened, then it goes through my head: ‘Did something happen with my legs? Did I break my back? Can I lift my leg up?’ – all small things I was trying to do to see what happened.
“Then in the ambulance I heard someone say ‘how long was he out for’ and someone said ‘five minutes’ and that was the first time I had heard I was gone.”
Eriksen was given an implanted cardiac defibrillator, meaning his Inter career was over, because the Italian rules ban someone with this machinery from taking part in professional football or even training in a gym.
He therefore had to terminate his contract by mutual consent and has now signed for Premier League minnows Brentford until the end of the season.
The 30-year-old assures he never feared his career was finished, even when sitting in hospital.
“I wanted to get all the tests done and get to talk with all the doctors to see what is a possibility and what is not,” continued Eriksen.
“But then ever since, I think less than a week after, they said ‘you have an ICD but otherwise nothing has changed, you can continue like a normal life and there is no limit to what you want to do’.
“It was a relief, that is true, but also weird because I wouldn’t want to overdo it, I wouldn’t want to take any chances with it, so that’s why I am doing many tests to make sure that it is OK.
“It is not going to affect me in 30 years what I am doing now and that was the main aim, otherwise if they tell me something has changed then I will be on another page.
“I don’t see any risk, no. I have an ICD, if anything would happen then I am safe.”
Eriksen is now counting down the days to the moment he can step back onto the pitch during a competitive game.
“It has been a long build-up and it still is going to be a long build up from day to day. It feels like it is getting closer and [I am] patient for the right timing.
“But it is going to be very special to be able to walk out on the pitch and play a match again after probably, at the time, seven or eight months since that happened. It is going to be amazing.”
“I was gone from this world for five minutes until they got my heartbeat back”
Coming up on @BBCNews at 6, Christian ERIKSEN tells me about his remarkable return to football in his 1st UK interview since the cardiac arrest that shocked football https://t.co/4XEvxGlCdD pic.twitter.com/T78ddnwybK— Dan Roan (@danroan) February 10, 2022
It would be a beautiful gesture to invite Eriksen to do the coin toss for a special match like the UCL final or next Milan–Inter Coppa match so both Kjaer and Inter fans can cheer for him.
Love that idea and I am a Juve fan. But he is part of Inter history with that Scudetto win and that would be a nice gesture. I am glad he is still with us and will get the opportunity to pay again. He is a magnificent player.