Christian Eriksen describes his ability to return to Brentford as a “miracle” after falling while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020 last summer.
In his interview with BBC Sports, he spoke about his PL return, playing with ICD and memories of the incident.
I am grateful to the people around me.
“The first step is to express gratitude,” Eriksen explained to BBC Sport.
“To my teammates, the doctors first on the field, the team doctors and paramedics, and then at the hospital, to do everything and double-check everything.”
“Then there were all the messages of support from folks who cared about me and what my family had been through. It’s been wonderful to see all of the grateful messages.”
“I am extremely fortunate, and I have told them directly that I am grateful for what they did; otherwise, I would not be here.”
He continued, ” “It was unlucky in a lucky place for me. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, and I never expected to get it myself when it happened, but I was fortunate that the people around me acted so promptly.
I was gone from this world until they got me back.
Eriksen’s memories of the 12th of June 2021 will be engraved in stone, except the five minutes when he was “gone from this world till they got my heartbeat back.”
He explained, “I can recall everything except the five minutes.” “I was informed it was five minutes later, but I remember everything else – they throw in, the ball striking my knee, and then I have no idea what occurred after that.”
“Suddenly I awoke with people around me and felt pressure on my chest, attempting to regain my breathing, and when I awoke – I opened my eyes and saw people around me, and I had no idea what was happening.”
“I had no notion what had occurred at the time, and then it occurred to me: ‘Did something happen to my legs?’ Is it true that I broke my back? ‘Can I raise my leg?’ – these were all minor things I was attempting to do to figure out what was going on.”
Then, in the ambulance, someone asked, “How long was he unconscious for?” and someone replied, “five minutes,” and that was the first time I heard I was gone.”
Eriksen on playing with ICD
Eriksen claims that he did not consider returning to football in the days following the incident but has never worried that his career would be gone.
“I wanted to get all of the tests done and talk to all of the doctors to see what’s possible and what’s not,” he explained.
“But then they said, ‘You have an ICD, but otherwise nothing has changed, you can live a regular life, and there is no limit to what you want to do,’ which was less than a week later.”
“It was a relief, but it was also strange since I didn’t want to overdo it, and I didn’t want to take any chances, so I’m conducting numerous tests to ensure that everything is in order.”
Eriksen on his sensational PL Return
When asked if returning will feel like a miracle, Eriksen replied: “Without a doubt. The closer it gets to being in a real game, the more clear it will become – being in a stadium, being in a game, you get all the passion and excitement from that.”
“I’ve done a lot of jogging and a lot of tests, so I’m in good shape,” he added. “But the football touch is something you get in games, so it’ll take a few more weeks to get there.”
“At the moment, I’ll be able to play if the coach feels me fit and wants me to. But for the time being, we’re just taking things day by day.”
“For the following six months, this was the ideal circumstance for my family and me,” he stated. “We are familiar with the area because it is close to where we lived in north London for many years.
“It’s been a long build-up, and it’ll continue to be a long build-up day by day,” Eriksen added. But being able to step out on the pitch and play a match after what was probably seven or eight months since that happened will be memorable. It’s going to be incredible.” “It feels like it’s getting closer, and [I’m] keeping my fingers crossed for the proper moment.”