Eriksen 'was gone' before resuscitation, says Denmark's team doctor

Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen has outlined the severity of Christian Eriksen’s collapse on the pitch against Finland.

Christian Eriksen ‘was gone’ before medical staff resuscitated him from a cardiac arrest, says Denmark’s team doctor, Morten Boesen.

The Inter Milan midfielder collapsed in the 42nd-minute of Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland on Saturday, causing the match to come to an immediate halt in Copenhagen.

Medical staff administered treatment to resuscitate Eriksen and stretched him off the pitch. The 29-year-old was later revealed to be conscious and in a stable physical state in hospital.

“He [Eriksen] was gone. We started the resuscitation, and we managed to do it,” said Boesen as quoted by The Guardian.

“How close were we to losing him? I don’t know, but we got him back after one defib [defibrillation], so that’s quite fast.”

The Danish Football Association (DBU) announced on Sunday morning that Eriksen remains in a ‘stable’ condition and in hospital for further tests.

Update regarding Christian Eriksen. pic.twitter.com/YuKD9hS9LV

— DBU – En Del Af Noget Større (@DBUfodbold) June 13, 2021

Fans have welcomed the news and praised the actions of the medical staff, referee Anthony Taylor, Denmark captain Simon Kjaer – who placed Eriksen on his side to ensure he didn’t swallow his tongue and comforted his partner – and the Danish players for forming a protective barrier around their teammate.

“How quickly they [the medical team] reacted was decisive, I would say,” said Boesen.

“The time from when it happens until he receives help is the most important factor. And that was a short period of time. That was decisive.

“They are now doing a series of tests at the hospital that can maybe give some of the answers him and I are looking for. But he is awake and is answering questions clearly.

“His heart is beating again… the tests that have been done so far look fine. We don’t have an explanation to why it happened.”

Despite having the option to postpone the match until Sunday afternoon, Denmark elected to restart the fixture on Saturday.

Joel Pohjanpalo scored in the second half to seal Finland a 1-0 win in Parken, while Finnish goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky saved a penalty from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.