Christian Eriksen Releases Photo, Thanks Fans After Collapse At Euro 2020 – Deadline

3RD UPDATE: A day after Denmark star Christian Erikson was visited by some of his teammates after his horrifying cardiac arrest incident on the field at the European Championships, he tweeted out thanks with a photo of him smiling from his hospital bed.

It was a stunning turnaround after the events of Saturday, when the Denmark and Inter Milan player collapsed on the field just before halftime of Denmark’s tournament-opening game against Finland in Copenhagen. Doctors said Eriksen, 29, “was gone” before he could be resuscitated following emergency action, including being defibrillated, as a hometown crowd and a global audience looked on.

The game was postponed until later in the day, and fans of both nations remained in the stadium cheering Eriksen’s name until word arrived that he had been stabilized at a local hospital. Test are ongoing, but the midfielder had no previous conditions, according to team doctors at his Italian club.

“Big thanks for your sweet and amazing greetings and messages from around the world,” he wrote in a message tweeted out by Denmark’s soccer federation, along with a photo of a smiling Eriksen giving a thumbs-up. “It means a lot to me and my family.

“I’m fine — under the circumstances. I still have to go through some examinations at the hospital, but I feel okay. Now I will cheer on the boys on the Denmark team in the next matches. Play for all of Denmark,” he added.

A message from @ChrisEriksen8.
♥️🤍 pic.twitter.com/WDTHjqE94w

— DBU – En Del Af Noget Større (@DBUfodbold) June 15, 2021

Denmark resumes its Group B play in Euro 2020 on Thursday against Belgium, the world’s No. 1 team.

2ND UPDATE, July 14 AM: Denmark star midfielder Christian Eriksen remained in stable condition Monday in a Copenhagen hospital after collapsing during his team’s Euro 2020 game against Finland on Saturday, as a few of his teammates met with the media for the first time and a former Denmark star suggested the team had no choice but to continue the game after Eriksen’s collapse.

The latest comes after Denmark’s team doctor said Sunday that Eriksen’s heart stopped and that “he was gone” before being resuscitated with a defibrillator on the field in front of a shocked crowd and a global TV audience just minutes before halftime. His teammates formed a human wall around the scene and were visibly emotional as medical personnel frantically worked on their teammate, after team captain Simon Kjaer had rushed to his side, clearing Eriksen’s airway and beginning CPR.

Erikson, 29, spoke with the team via video yesterday after the squad returned to the field later Saturday night with emotions swirling, eventually losing 1-0 in the group game. The team plays Belgium on Thursday and teammate Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg said Eriksen is urging them to play.

“It gives you the feeling that it’s OK to move forward,” Hojbjerg said after the team’s training session today, per the Associated Press. “We really want to play on Thursday, to play for Christian and to play for everyone who has supported us.”

Eriksen’s team doctors at his club team Inter Milan said today the star player had cleans bills of health during his time at the Italian club, as well as at his previous team Tottenham Hotspur in England. He also revealed that Eriksen had not yet gotten vaccinated from Covid-19. Tests are now ongoing at the cause of the incident.

There have been questions whether tournament organizer UEFA was correct in allowing Saturday’s Denmark-Finland game to resume. One critical of the decision was former Denmark goalkeeper great Peter Schmeichel, whose son Kasper is now Denmark’s keeper.

“I actually saw an official quote from UEFA yesterday saying that they were following the advice of the player, the players insisted on playing. I know that not to be the truth,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain. “Or, it’s how you see the truth.

“[The Denmark team] were left with three options, one was to play immediately and get the last 50 minutes played. The next one was to come in [Sunday] at 12 noon and finish the 50 minutes, and the third option was to forfeit the game 3-0,” he said. “So work it out for yourself. Is it the players’ wish to play? Did they have any choice really? I don’t think they had.”

UPDATE, June 13 AM: The collapse of star soccer player Christian Eriksen on the field Saturday was worse than first believed.

Denmark’s team doctor said Sunday that the player’s heart stopped and that “he was gone” before being resuscitated with a defibrillator at the European Championship.

“He was gone. And we did cardiac resuscitation. And it was cardiac arrest,” said team doctor Morten Boesen. “How close were we? I don’t know. We got him back after one defib. That’s quite fast.”

Eriksen collapsed as he went to take a throw-in, according to reports. He was walking towards the sideline and when the ball was thrown in his direction, it hit him and he fell to the ground.

Teammates rushed to assist him and frantically called for a medical team. The medics were administering CPR on the field, with the worst possible outcome looking likely at one point. Teammates surrounded him on the field and the crowd in his home stadium in Copenhagen went silent for the 10 minutes he lay prone. ESPN was broadcasting the game to a worldwide audience.

Eriksen was taken to the hospital and stabilized.

A Twitter report from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) said a crisis meeting has taken place with both teams and match officials. The match was suspended with the score 0-0.

Update: A Twitter post has indicated the game will go on later today.