FC Barcelona and Denmark striker Martin Braithwaite has revealed that his national teammate, Christian Eriksen looked dead when he collapsed on the pitch during their Euro 2020 opener against Finland.
When Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during Euro 2020 opener between Denmark and Finland, the football world stopped for the football star.
It took the doctors in the stadium a lengthy period before they were able to resuscitate him and then rushed him to the hospital. Afterward, it was confirmed that he fell because he suffered a cardiac arrest.
One of the players who were very close to the scene of the incident was Martin Braithwaite. The 30-year-old Denmark striker said when he looked at Eriksen when he was laying on the pitch, he thought he was already “gone”.
The FC Barcelona striker noted how he was left with no choice but to turn to God in prayer while the doctors while battling to bring Eriksen back to life.
It was such an overwhelming incident that the European Championship match had to be postponed for hours before the two teams came back to complete the remaining minutes in the game.
Days after the incident, Christian Eriksen had to undergo surgery and a defibrillator was planted in him to prevent a recurrence of such an incident.
In a new four-part documentary series about Martin Braithwaite, produced by Lucky Metal and 433, the FC Barcelona striker described the incident as the most terrible situation of his life. He went on to note how everyone was shocked when the incident happened.
“I have experienced one of the most terrible situations in my life,” Braithwaite said.
“What was meant to be the biggest sports event in Danish history turned out just to be a nightmare.
“What happened that night shocked a lot of people… “There was one moment I looked at [Eriksen] and he was gone.
“When you look at a body where the person is dead, you have no doubt. You know right away. That is what I saw…
“When I saw that I started to pray hard. I felt it was the only thing I could do at that moment. Turn to God.
“We had all the doctors working on him and that image is something that I don’t wish for anyone to see.
“It all finished with a good ending, Christian is good and stable. That’s the only thing that we could wish for.”
Martin Braithwaite has returned to FC Barcelona to commence his preparation for the coming 2021-2022 season. While Eriksen has to wait for the outcome of a series of medical tests to confirm whether the defibrillator planted in him can be removed before he can return to football in Italy.
The 29-year-old attacking midfielder still has three seasons left on his contract with Inter Milan but the regulations against the use of a defibrillator in Italian football would not permit him to play with the device in him. Hence, the device has to be removed or go to a league where he could play with the device.
If the device has to be removed, Eriksen has to stay away from football for 6 months. The doctors will use the period to confirm whether the operation will be successful and to carry it out if it is safe to do so.
