(CNN) – Christian Eriksen “had died” before being revived from cardiac arrest, the Denmark team doctor told a news conference on Sunday.
The Danish footballer collapsed on the pitch during his team’s opening match at the Eurocup 2020 against Finland.
Well, what should I say? He had died. We did a cardiac resuscitation and it was cardiac arrest. How close were we? I don’t know, ”said Dr. Morten Boesen.
“We got it back after ‘defibrillation’ so it’s pretty quick,” added the team doctor, referring to the defibrillator used to revive Eriksen. “The details … I am not a cardiologist, so the details about what happened and what will come next I will leave to the experts.”
Eriksen greeted his fellow Danish teammates from the hospital where he is recovering after falling on the field shortly before halftime.
“This morning we spoke with Christian Eriksen, who sent greetings to his teammates. His health is stable and he continues to be hospitalized for a future check-up, ”the Danish Football Union (DBU) reported this Sunday.
The match was called off after lengthy efforts by medical staff to resuscitate Eriksen with CPR and the defibrillator.
UEFA later announced that the match would resume. When this happened, Finland won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Joel Pohjanpalo in the 59th minute.
“We would like to thank everyone for the sincere greetings to Christian Eriksen from fans, players, Royal Families of both Denmark and England, international associations, clubs, etc.,” DBU said in a statement. this Sunday.
More concerned about his team and family
Denmark’s technical director Kasper Hjulmand said Eriksen wanted his teammates to play and was more concerned about his team and his family.
The 29-year-old midfielder currently plays for Inter Milan, arriving in 2020 after seven years at Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League.
“The important thing is that he is well, but there had never been any episode that, not even remotely, had hinted at a problem (of the heart), not when he was at Tottenham, or at Inter. In Italy, the controls are very rigorous, “Inter Milan doctor Piero Volpi told Gazzetta dello Sport on Sunday.
Inter Milan CEO Giuseppe Marotta said Eriksen has never had COVID-19 and has not been vaccinated.
“We don’t want to be intrusive because it is right for the player to be calm. He is a champion, ”Marotta told Italian television channel Rai Sport, according to Reuters.
The Dane, who has made more than 100 appearances for his country’s national team, went through the lower ranks of Ajax and began his professional career at said Dutch club.
Lukaku’s message
After he collapsed, Eriksen’s teammates formed a wall around him to protect the Inter Milan star from stares as he received resuscitation.
The players of both teams, as well as the fans present in the stadium, were visibly distressed as Eriksen was treated by the doctors.
In the other Group B match, Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring for Belgium against Russia and ran towards the camera to send a message of support to his Inter teammate. “Chris, Chris, sterkte jongen (in Dutch it means” I wish you strength / all the best “). I love you, “he said.
Lukaku, who scored a second goal late in the game, told reporters in his post-match interview that he “cried a lot” and “freaked out” when he heard the news of Eriksen’s collapse.
“I spend more time with him than with my family, so my thoughts are with him, his girlfriend, his two children and his family,” he added.
Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son
In Goyang (South Korea), Eriksen’s former teammate, Heung-Min Son, he scored a goal in his team’s victory against Lebanon (2-1) in a World Cup qualifying match, and shouted “Christian Eriksen, I love you,” according to a tweet from his club, Tottenham.
Other messages of goodwill from around the world flooded social media. Harry Kane, England’s captain and Eriksen’s former teammate, sent his love to the Dane and his family in a tweet on Saturday.
“Stay strong mate,” said Kane, who played his first match at Euro 2020 on Sunday.
“Please God”
Saturday’s incident was reminiscent of Fabrice Muamba’s collapse in 2012, after the footballer suffered cardiac arrest during Bolton’s FA Cup match against Tottenham. Muamba ended up recovering, but had to interrupt his career as a footballer.
“Please God,” Muamba tweeted after Eriksen’s collapse.
“All our thoughts are with Christian Eriksen and his family,” Eriksen’s former club Tottenham tweeted, while his Inter Milan teammate Ashley Young wrote: “PLEASE BROTHER PLEASE.”
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge paid tribute to the doctors who rushed onto the field to help Eriksen, and to referee Anthony Taylor, who stopped the match immediately.
“Encouraging news about Christian Eriksen, we are all thinking about him and his family. Well done to the medical team and to Anthony Taylor for his calm and prompt action, “read a tweet from the Dukes’ official Twitter account, signed” W “.
Matias Grez contributed to this report.