Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen has said that Christian Eriksen 'was gone' after suffering a cardiac arrest during his side's Euro 2020 opener against Finland in Copenhagen on Saturday.
Eriksen collapsed just before half-time, receiving lengthy treatment on the field before being taken to hospital.
After the incident, UEFA issued a statement reassuring fans that Eriksen was awake and stable in hospital. A further update has now been issued by Boesen in a press conference.
"Well, he was gone. We did cardiac resuscitation. And it was cardiac arrest. How close were we [to losing him]? I don’t know. We got him back after one defib, so that’s quite fast," he said, as reported by Danish outlet TV2.
Boesen went on to say that he did not know what had caused Eriksen to go into cardiac arrest.
"None of us know why it happened. This is probably also one of the reasons why he is still in the hospital," he added.
Denmark manager, Kasper Hjulmand, also spoke to the press. The decision for the game to be resumed less than an hour after the incident raised eyebrows and Hjulmand said it was a 'really difficult decision'.
He also took time to praise Eriksen's teammates, who formed a protective barrier around him while he was receiving treatment.
"I know many teams, organizations and companies that have fine values hanging on a posterm," he said
"When it is pressure tested, you see something else. I have not missed an opportunity to praise the team spirit that is on this team, and I think we all got a clear picture of it yesterday."
All things being well, Denmark play their next game against Belgium on Thursday. Staff and players have indicated that they are determined to keep playing with Eriksen himself encouraging his teammates to finish the game on Saturday.
Source : 90min