Eriksen wants to play World Cup in Qatar and says heart is no obstacle

After suffering a cardiac arrest in June of last year, during a Euro Cup game, the Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen says he is recovered from the trauma and ready to defend the selection in the World Cup in Qatar.

At least that is the will of the 30-year-old player, who is working to return to playing after the scare he took in 2021, at the Parken stadium, in Copenhagen.

“I want to play with the national team at the World Cup. My dream is to go back to the national team, play for Parken again and prove that what happened was isolated and will not happen again. I want to prove that I’ve moved on and can play for the national team again. Of course, it’s up to the coach [da seleção] assess my level. But my heart is not an obstacle”, said Eriksen in an interview with DR TV channel, from Denmark.

In his first exclusive interview since the Euro event, the midfielder spoke about the affection he received from fans and the football community and thanked his teammates and doctors who helped him in the process.

“I thanked whoever I met in person. I thanked the doctors, my teammates and their families personally, but all the fans who sent thousands of letters, emails, flowers, or who approached me on the streets in Italy and Denmark, I thanked all of them for their support,” he said.

“It was amazing that so many people felt that it was necessary to write or send flowers. It had such an impact on so many people, and they felt that it was necessary for me and my family to know about it. It makes me very happy.”

Christian Eriksen had a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s European Championship debut against Finland on June 12, 2021, in Copenhagen.

The player suddenly fell on the pitch in the 42nd minute of the first half and was immediately attended to by paramedics and professionals from the Danish national team.

Referred to a hospital in the Danish capital, Eriksen underwent surgery to have a cardiac defibrillator inserted.

“At the hospital, they said all the time that I had received more and more flowers. It was strange, because I didn’t expect to receive so many flowers, because I died for five minutes”, said the athlete, in an interview with DR TV.

Under Italian law, players who have a built-in defibrillator cannot play professionally in Italian football. Therefore, the Dane terminated his contract with Inter Milan in December. He is currently looking for a club.

In order to keep his physical form with an eye on returning to the pitch, Eriksen has been training at Odense, the club where he played in the youth divisions.