The Danish national team doctor, Morten Boysen, revealed how to save the life of the Danish star Christian Eriksen, and the scenes of what happened after he collapsed and fell unconscious during his country’s match against Finland yesterday, Saturday, at the start of the two teams’ journey in Euro 2020.
“We were called to the stadium when Christian fell, he was lying on his side when we approached him. At first, he was breathing and pulsing, but that suddenly changed,” Boysen told Danish newspaper BT.
“Football is a beautiful game and Christian plays it beautifully,” says UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
Tonight’s Star of the Match is Christian Eriksen. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Christian. #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/gJPa7P2nAx
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 12, 2021
“Things changed quickly (his heart stopped), and then we started resuscitating him. As everyone saw, he received CPR, and soon we got help from the stadium doctor and brought Christian back (to life).”
The doctor explained what happened after Eriksen woke up, saying, “He spoke to me before he was taken to the hospital,” as he was transferred to a nearby hospital and his condition became stable after he was close to death. Then the match resumed after being interrupted due to his rare accident.
Eriksen collapsed on the field two minutes before the end of the first half, without any intervention from any other player.
Similar experience
On the other hand, former Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Mwamba said that Eriksen’s fall brought back some painful memories when he suffered a heart attack on the field in an FA Cup match in 2012, and the former England Under-21 player was forced to retire at the age of 24.
“It (Eriksen’s incident) brought back some of the atmosphere that happened to me, and it brought back feelings after watching what happened from afar and without knowing what was going to happen,” Mwamba told the BBC.
He added, “It was terrifying, but I salute the medical staff. He did a great job with Christian. I also liked the way his colleagues united to protect him, and I hope he will be fine and overcome this crisis.”