June 14, 2021 – Danish soccer player Christian Eriksen’s heart stopped beating after he fell to the ground during a Euro 2020 game against Finland on Saturday, Danish team doctor Morten Boesen has said.
“Well, he was gone,” Boesen said, according to The Wall Street Journal. “We did cardiac resuscitation. And it was cardiac arrest.”
Erickson, a 29-year-old midfielder, collapsed in the 43rd minute of play, The newspaper noted. Erickson soon lost his life and a defibrillator was used to resuscitate him in front of crowds and international viewers.
“How close were we (to losing him)? I don’t know,” Boesen said. “We got him back after a defibrillator, so it’s pretty quick.”
Boesen said he doesn’t know what caused Erickson’s cardiac arrest. He said Erickson may have survived because up-to-date medical equipment was available.
“It was completely decisive, I think,” Boesen said. “The time between when that happens and when he gets help is the critical factor, and that time was short. That was decisive.
Erickson is now in stable condition in a hospital in Copenhagen and has been video messaging his teammates, ESPN reported.
“We are in contact with him. We were in contact with him yesterday and today. [His] the condition is the same as yesterday, stable, good,” Danish Football Association communications director Jakob Hoeyer said on Monday, according to ESPN.
The match resumed after a 90-minute postponement. Finland won 1-0. Denmark will next face Belgium on Thursday.
A soccer player who collapsed in 2012 and was technically dead for 78 minutes says Ericksen will face a mental challenge to recover.
Fabrice Muamba, former Bolton Wanderers player, wrote in a column for The temperature from London that it took him more than a year to come to terms with what happened, ESPN said. He retired at 24.
“It’s too early to know his physical health, but I can share something about the mental battle which in many ways is the hardest part of the journey ahead,” Muamba said.
