Denmark team doctor says Christian Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest and 'was gone' before resuscitation
"How close were we (to losing Eriksen)? I don't know" says Denmark team doctor
The doctor for Denmark's national team has confirmed Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during his country’s Euro 2020 game against Finland on Saturday.
The former Tottenham footballer is now in a stable condition in hospital and continues to be monitored as he recovers from the incident in Copenhagen.
Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen told reporters on Sunday Eriksen "was gone" before "we did cardiac resuscitation".
"How close were we (to losing Eriksen)? I don't know. After one defib(rillation)... so, it was quite fast," he said.
The midfielder "sent his greetings to his teammates" from hospital on Sunday, the Danish FA said.
In a statement on Twitter, the Danish Football Association said the 29-year-old had been in contact with the squad.
It read: "This morning we have spoken to Christian Eriksen, who has sent his greetings to his teammates.
"His condition is stable and he continues to be hospitalised for further examination."
The statement continued: "We encourage everyone to send their greetings to the Danish FA, where we will make sure they are all passed on to Christian and his family."
The midfielder dropped to the ground at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen shortly before half-time, to the shock of fellow players and fans, and was treated on the pitch before being taken to hospital.
After Eriksen collapsed, his team-mates formed a shield around the 29-year-old while he received treatment on the pitch and fans from both sets of countries later chanted the name of the midfielder.
Footballer Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a cardiac arrest during a game in 2012, said watching the Denmark midfielder collapse brought back painful memories.
Muamba’s heart stopped beating for 78 minutes after the Bolton Wanderers midfielder collapsed on the pitch during an FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham Hotspur in March 2012.
'It was a horrible, horrible feeling,' Muamba reveals how he felt as he watched Eriksen's collapse on the pitch
He told ITV News: "Like any football fan, you're in shock, you actually can't believe it.
"It's actually happening to a professional player, I'm in disbelief to be honest, how everything unfolded in front of people's faces."
"I was watching the game and I was like, 'come on, come on, come on Christian'."
He added: "This is not what we want this to end like, you know, but it was a horrible, a horrible feeling put it that way."
Describing what it was like for him during the incident, he said: "Those are the emotions that I've buried, that I bury inside me...and to actually see it happen again, it was not great."