Inter Milan midfielder Christian Eriksen will be fitted with a heart-starting device (ICD) after suffering a cardiac arrest during the Euros, Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen has confirmed.
The 29-year-old was given CPR on the pitch at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen after collapsing in the first half of his team’s 1-0 Group B defeat against Finland on Saturday.
Speaking after the game, Boesen said Eriksen was “gone”, but swift treatment on the field of play and by hospital staff meant the player was stabilised, and he was able to send his greetings to his team-mates later.
Providing an update on Thursday, Boesen said: “After Christian has been through different heart examinations it has been decided that he should have an ICD (heart starter). 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.
“We encourage everybody to give Christian and his family peace and privacy the following time.”
Eriksen’s former Ajax team-mate Daley Blind, who is currently representing the Netherlands at Euro 2020, has also been fitted with an ICD after he was diagnosed with a heart condition in 2019.
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Blind spent three years with Eriksen at Ajax from 2010 to 2013 and said he even considered missing his country’s opening match of the Euros after Saturday’s incident.
He broke down in tears after being substituted I the second half of the Netherlands’ 3-2 victory over Ukraine on Sunday.
Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand says Eriksen will be watching his team-mates when they play Belgium and will even be able to hear the stadium from the hospital he is.
