LONDON: Christian Eriksen says he has no anxiety about playing his first match since a cardiac arrest and believes a return to England was perfect after the incident last summer.
The Denmark international has not played a competitive match since June 12, when he collapsed and in his own words was “gone from this world for five minutes” during a European Championship match against Finland.
After being fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator days after the incident, Eriksen had to be released by Inter Milan in December due to rules in Italy preventing athletes from competing with an ICD. He made a surprise return to the English Premier League with Brentford in January.
Bees boss Thomas Frank revealed on Friday the former Tottenham playmaker will play in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Monday which could open the door for him to be involved at Arsenal on Feb. 19.
“I do feel in my head and body that the excitement is coming, the adrenaline is coming more and more toward game time,” Eriksen said on Friday at his unveiling news conference at Brentford Community Stadium.
“No, if there was any anxiety I wouldn’t go back.
“If I wasn’t fully committed and feel like I am trusting of the doctors, trusting of my heart, trusting my ICD in me, then I wouldn’t go back. No, I feel 100 percent secure to go back.”
Eriksen trained with his teammates for the first time on Monday but was familiar with several of them who are Denmark internationals.
The 29-year-old Eriksen has previously worked with Frank in Danish age-group teams and yet had no ambitions to return to England before he suffered a cardiac arrest, having spent 6 1/2 years in the UK with Tottenham before leaving in January 2020. Unable then to play in Italy, he considered an England return the best alternative.
He passed the required medical checks and cleared to play in the Premier League with the ICD.
Daley Blind, Eriksen’s former Ajax teammate who also played for Manchester United, is a notable footballer to still play with a pacemaker.
“First of all, I felt from the beginning of this I needed to prove you can play with an ICD and if something that bad has happened, you can be returning to a normal life afterwards,” Eriksen insisted. “That is more the motivation for me, to show I am capable of that.
“At the same time, I haven’t forgotten how to play football. My body is still the same and my vision and ability is still the same. Of course it is about kicking on, getting used to my teammates and falling into the rhythm of the team.”
Eriksen excited to prove he can play after cardiac arrest
https://arab.news/mg5r2
Eriksen excited to prove he can play after cardiac arrest
- The Denmark international has not played a competitive match since June 12
- Eriksen made a surprise return to the English Premier League with Brentford in January.
China, North Korea make winning starts at Women’s Asian Cup
- China beat South Korea in Mumbai four years ago to win their ninth Asian Cup and are the most successful team in the tournament’s history
SYDNEY: China kicked off their Women’s Asian Cup title defense with a battling 2-0 win over resilient tournament debutants Bangladesh in Group B on Tuesday, courtesy of Wang Shuang and Zhang Rui hitting the target.
But it was hard work in front of a boisterous crowd at Western Sydney Stadium against a young team ranked almost 100 places below them.
Earlier, Myong Yu Jong bagged a hat trick as three-time champions North Korea marked their first game at the continental competition since 2010 with a slick 3-0 win over Uzbekistan in the same group.
China beat South Korea in Mumbai four years ago to win their ninth Asian Cup and are the most successful team in the tournament’s history.
But they have struggled in recent times and are bidding to recreate their glory days under Australian coach Ante Milicic.
It was tougher than expected against a Bangladesh team that showed no fear and would have taken the lead but for a fine fingertip save by Chen Chen from Ritu Porna Chakma’s dipping shot.
Playing at a fast and furious pace, China created plenty of opportunities but had to wait until just before halftime to open their account when Wang’s long-range shot curled in.
Zhang added a second minutes later from outside the box to stun Bangladesh.
But the underdogs, coached by England’s Peter Butler, refused to lie down and admirably regrouped to prevent any more goals despite China’s constant threat.
North Korea were dominant against the Uzbeks, striking early to pile on the pressure, and there was no way back for a side that lost their starting goalkeeper to a neck injury after 10 minutes.
Midfielder Myong clinically finished on the turn in the sixth minute after a goalmouth scramble in front of a smattering of North Korean fans.
She doubled the lead with a penalty after Chae Un Yong was shoved over and made it 3-0 with another spot kick on 41 minutes, again planting the ball into the left-hand corner.
The second half was played almost exclusively in the Uzbek half, but they limited the damage by defending well.
One of Asia’s most successful women’s sides, North Korea are looking to replicate their titles from 2001, 2003 and 2008.
Their momentum from the 2000s was checked when they were banned from the 2015 World Cup qualifying for failed doping tests and they did not play any games from 2019 to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
