Euro 2020: How Denmark Team Doctor, Medics Saved Eriksen’s Life

As Christian Eriksen lay unconscious on the field after collapsing during the Euro 2020 match, his pulse slipping away, Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen quickly realised there was not a second to lose.

“He was breathing, and I could feel his pulse. But suddenly that changed,” Boesen said. “And as everyone saw, we started giving him CPR.”

The next 10 minutes were among the scariest to ever unfold during a match at football’s European Championship.

Several medics worked frenetically to give Eriksen chest compressions while his teammates choked away tears and formed a circle around the midfielder to shield the scene from public view.

And finally, the eerie silence that had descended around Parken Stadium was replaced with massive cheers.

“The help came really, really fast from the medical team and the rest of the staff, and with their cooperation, we did what we had to do. We managed to get Christian back.”

Eriksen was awake and in stable condition on Saturday night after being taken to a Copenhagen hospital, the Danish football federation said.

Just before half-time, the midfielder fell face-forward onto the ground. His teammates, Finland players and the referee immediately gestured for help and medics rushed onto the field.

Eriksen’s partner, Sabrina Kvist Jensen, went onto the field and was comforted by Denmark captain Simon Kjaer and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

The Finland players huddled by their bench and eventually walked off the field while the Inter Milan midfielder was still getting treatment.

Eriksen was eventually carried off to a loud ovation, with his teammates walking next to the stretcher.

Inter Milan team physician Piero Volpi told The Associated Press that Eriksen never contracted COVID-19, has no medical conditions that he is aware of and has passed every medical exam without problems since joining the club in January 2020 from Tottenham.

“But we’ll talk about that when the time is right,” Volpi added of Eriksen’s medical history. “Right now, the important thing is that he recovers.”

- aljazeera.com