MARBELLA, Spain, Mar 24 – Christian Eriksen said Thursday he was “very pleased” to join up with the Denmark team, just nine months after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Eriksen has linked up once again with the national side ahead of friendlies against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Saturday and Serbia in Copenhagen on Tuesday.
“I’m very happy and pleased to be able to be back with national team again. It’s been a while, so I am very happy to be back,” the midfielder said in Marbella, where the Denmark squad are training.
Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in Denmark’s opening game of the European Championships against Finland in Copenhagen last June.
He had to be resuscitated on the pitch, lying unconscious for several minutes as the stunned crowd and millions of television viewers around the world watched on in horror.
Eriksen spent several days in hospital and had a pacemaker implanted to regulate his heartbeat.
Eriksen, scorer of 36 goals in 109 appearances for Denmark, terminated his contract with Inter Milan by mutual consent in December as Italian league rules bar players with pacemakers.
He made his club comeback on February 26 for English Premier League side Brentford.
Eriksen said he had been “lucky with the doctors and I’ve been lucky with the diagnosis”.
“Everything is okay to go back to play again and that of course gave me the push to get me back to the life I had before.”
The cardiac arrest, Eriksen added, was “difficult for everyone…. we had a lot of conversations, of course, to walk and talk through everything that’s happened”.
“But since then time has really tried to heal everything and it’s been going well. So obviously when it’s going well and the time comes with it, then it’s a very good mix and that helps definitely.”
Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said having Eriksen back was “a good feeling, of course, we are happy to have him here”.
“It was a nice moment yesterday when he entered to the group, and so it’s great to have him back.”
Denmark have qualified for the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year. After Eriksen’s cardiac arrest Denmark reached the Euro semi-finals where they lost to England.
