Christian Eriksen opens up on ‘tough’ Brentford training session and retirement U-turn

Christian Eriksen ‘can’t wait to get started’ with Brentford

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Christian Eriksen admits he found his first training session back as a professional footballer tough following his cardiac arrest in June. Day One of being put through his paces at new club Brentford was a big step up from training informally with Ajax in recent weeks and Eriksen fears he is still several weeks away from consideration for a return to the Premier League.

“I feel good but when you come back from injury without playing football it takes some time to get back,” he admitted. “Strength-wise I am in a good place and need some training minutes to get up to speed.

“I am just going to take my time and see how my body feels and my head feels and whether I can be any advantage to the team.

“But even going to the training ground and getting the training kit on gets you in the vibe. Being in the stadium will build up the excitement. It is something I look forward to.

“In the beginning it was difficult to watch matches, because I wanted to be there. But once I was in my football boots and on the grass, it started to come back.

“Now I want to see the atmosphere, be in the dressing room and celebrate the wins.”

Eriksen left Inter Milan because the rules of Italian sport meant that Eriksen was banned from playing in Serie A with the ICD he has fitted below the shoulder blade and above his heart designed to shock him if his heart goes into arrest again.

There are no such regulations in the Premier League.

“I ended up in a situation where I had a lot of tests to get to where I am today and get the doctors to say I had approval to play again,” he told the club’s website.

“To pick Brentford, I had a good feeling that London was a good place for my family to be, and I want to spend the next four months showing that I am a football player again. It was the best option.

“Thomas was pretty clear early on. The first phone call was to find out how I feel and what my thoughts were. It was a good phone call and it took off from there.

“With Brentford, it is a chance to get back to the normal life that we had before.

“I don’t know if it has changed me as a person, but as a father and a family man it has changed me a bit.”

Nevertheless, cardiologists advise against contact sports because of the danger that a direct hit to the device could cause it to malfunction.

In hospital in Copenhagen, Eriksen had told his partner Sabrina that he never wanted to play football again, but that quickly changed.

“My mind changed two days later,” he said. “I was in the moment and I recognised what happened to me only later on and in the next few days – what was really going on.

“Then all the tests and the knowledge started to come in and all the questions were being asked as to whether I could do this, or whether I could do that.

“I listened to the doctors and then afterwards it slowly took off in a way that if I could do a test with a doctor following, I could slowly get back to playing football and see what happens.

“First of all it was a lot of tests to see how the heart reacted to physical training again. Luckily nothing came out of that. Everything was good.

“Then every month I could really push it and I could play – but the feeling of getting to here from the doctors was that even with an ICD there are no limits. And even in your condition there is no limit not to do it.

“Plenty of people do the marathon, swimming, a deep dive… all sorts. It just depends on the diagnosis and how you feel about it.

“But initially, I told Sabrina, ‘I’m telling you now I need my boots but don’t be certain.

“It’s for a few days and I will probably change my mind in a few days. Luckily everything was okay after.

“Now I have been given the green light to be the football Christian and it is time to make some new memories.

“I’m excited to show that even if your have had a cardiac arrest and have had the proper tests you can play again.”

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