"I may as well leave my boots here" - Christian Eriksen reveals he told his wife he would probably 'never play football again' en route to the hospital in June

UEFA Euro 2020 created several memories, the most prominent of which is, unfortunately, Christian Eriksen's horrifying cardiac arrest that saw him collapse on the pitch.

The incident occurred while he was representing Denmark in their opening group stage match against Finland on 12th June 2021. The match was suspended as urgent medical assistance was provided to Christian Eriksen on the pitch before he was taken to the hospital. The match was resumed later that evening, with Finland emerging victorious after a narrow 1-0 win. However, it was no longer about football. All thoughts and prayers were globally directed towards Eriksen, with his life on the line.

Thankfully, the 29-year-old soon stabilized and once his safety was secured, the next question was whether he would ever play football again. Nearly eight months later, the answer is a resounding yes as Christian Eriksen is all set to play for Brentford for the remainder of the ongoing season after signing a six-month contract.

Speaking in his first Brentford interview upon signing, Christian Eriksen admitted that he too doubted he would ever be able to play again, immediately after the incident. However, he claims he obtained clarity just two days later once he was given more information and has been on the road to recovery ever since, driven by his desire to step onto a pitch once again.

He said:

“On the way to the hospital I told Sabrina I may as well leave my boots here. It changed two days later. It was in the moment. I recognised what happened to me later on that night and the next few days. Then all the tests started and all the knowledge started to come in and all the questions were being asked ‘Can I do this? Can I do that?’ and listen to the doctors.

“Then after that it slowly took off in a way that if I can do tests with a doctor along the way then I can slowly get back to playing football. There were a lot of tests to see how the heart reacted to physical training again and luckily nothing came out of that and everything was good.

“Then, every month I could push it and then I could play. But the thing was hearing from the doctors that even with an ICD there are no limits, it just depends on the diagnosis and how you feel about it. I’ve had to be patient but I trusted my trainer and trusted my doctor and followed the plan they made and that made me comfortable and relaxed about it, about getting back to normal. But normal for me had to change.”

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Christian Eriksen remains optimistic despite 8-month hiatus

Wales v Denmark - UEFA Nations League B

Christian Eriksen is palpably eager to play in the Premier League once again. He claims the time since the incident is the longest he's gone without playing football, and reveals just how patient he's had to be in order to make a proper recovery. The former Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan man also declared that he 'feels good' now as he prepares to get back into the thick of things.

He said:

“It is the longest I have been without playing football - by far. I’ve been lucky that I haven’t had any injuries really. To be without football for six or seven months is a very long time. It’s been very difficult. You have to let it heal and not do anything and then I started the rehab program.

“Then I touched a ball and I’m on a football pitch, smell the grass, football boots, then everything starts coming back. The excitement to be in the stadium and be with the team. Condition-wise and strength-wise I am in a very good place, it’s just the football touch that needs to come back and get up to speed. We’ll see how my body reacts but I feel very good.”