‘He was gone’ — doctor says Christian Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest

Morten Boesnen, Denmark national team doctor, says Christian Eriksen, the midfielder who slumped during a European Championship match on Saturday, suffered cardiac arrest.

The lead doctor who rushed to attend to the Inter Milan playmaker spoke about the incident during a press conference on Sunday.

Eriksen was about to control a throw-in when he slumped in the 44th minute of Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 match against Finland.

The shocking episode was seen by over 10,000 spectators at the Copenhagen Stadium while millions watched on live television.

The doctor said an unconscious Eriksen was gone for a few seconds and had to be resuscitated using a defibrillator.

“He was gone. And we did cardiac resuscitation. And it was cardiac arrest,” Boesnan said.

“How close were we? I don’t know. We got him back after one defib. That’s quite fast.”

Boesnan disclosed that the 29-year-old was initially breathing when he got onto the scene before cardiac arrest struck and a collective medical effort brought him back.

“When I got to him he was on his side, he was breathing, I could feel a pulse, but suddenly that changed and we started to give him CPR,” he said.

“The help came really fast from the medical team and the rest of the staff with their co-operation, and we did what we had to do and managed to get Christian back.”

Eriksen received several minutes of emergency medical treatment on the pitch while his shocked teammates formed a shield around the former Tottenham midfielder.

Denmark’s national team later said Eriksen had been stabilised and was being examined in the hospital.

“His condition is stable and he continues to be hospitalised for further examination. This morning we have spoken to Christian, who has sent his greetings to his team-mates,” the national team said.

“The team and staff of the national team has received crisis assistance and will continue to be there for each other after yesterday’s incident.

“We would like to thank everyone for their heartfelt greetings.”