Joachim Andersen says seeing Denmark teammate Christian Eriksen collapse on the pitch at EURO 2020 last summer gave him a fresh perspective on the fragility of life.
The Crystal Palace centre-back was on the sidelines when Eriksen went down off the ball against Finland, suffering from a cardiac arrest as he was about to receive a throw-in. Urgent medical assistance arrived on the scene, and the midfielder received CPR while an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was used to reset his heart so it could pump blood properly again.
At the time, it was suggested that Eriksen’s playing days could be over, but following a remarkable recovery which included an operation to have an ICD fitted into his chest, he returned to the Premier League action with Brentford during the 2021-22 season and has since played for Denmark again where he is expected to be part of their squad for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year.
