CNA – Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen said joining Premier League club Brentford offers him the opportunity to return to a “normal life” as he seeks a comeback seven months after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Eriksen, who collapsed during a European Championship match against Finland in Copenhagen and was given life-saving CPR treatment in front of shocked fans and team mates, signed for Brentford last month as a free agent for the rest of the season.
The 29-year-old is now fitted with a special heart-starting device known as an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). Inter Milan terminated his contract in December because the ICD device is not permitted in Serie A.
“The challenge was more overcoming what really happened. You want to get back to normal, but for me, normal was getting back to playing in Italy but I wasn’t allowed to do this,” Eriksen said in a club interview published late on Monday.
“So for me, the normal had to change. We have the chance to get back to a normal life at Brentford.” Eriksen has not played a competitive match since his collapse, although he trained with his former club Ajax Amsterdam to build up his fitness.
“I feel very good, been doing a lot of running so condition and strength-wise, I am in a very good place. It’s only the football touch that needs to come back. The training and game minutes to get up to speed,” he added.
“I’m excited to show that you can, with an ICD, and if you have had a cardiac arrest, if you do the proper tests and everything is OK you can play again. I am happy about it.”
Brentford play at Manchester City today in the Premier League.
