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Christian Eriksen may not play football again after Euro 2020 collapse says cardiologist
CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN may not play professional football again after collapsing at Euro 2020, according to a leading sports cardiologist.
Christian Eriksen: Alex Scott reacts to incident
The Inter Milan footballer fell to the ground during a match between Denmark and Finland at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen shortly before half-time. The 29-year-old former Spurs playmaker was treated on the pitch before being taken to hospital. The match was suspended, and resumed at 7.30pm.
It is unclear what caused Mr Eriksen’s collapse.
The Danish Football Association has confirmed Eriksen is “awake” in hospital and his condition has "stabilised".
Sanjay Sharma, professor of sports cardiology at London's St George's University, said UK football bodies are likely to be "very strict" about allowing him to play again.
Speaking about the incident, Prof Sharma, who worked with Eriksen during his time at Tottenham Hotspur, said: "Clearly something went terribly wrong.
"But they managed to get him back, the question is what happened? And why did it happen?
"This guy had normal tests all the way up to 2019 so how do you explain this?"
READ MORE: Christian Eriksen: Denmark team-mate performed 'heroic' act
Prof Sharma is chair of the FA's expert cardiac consensus group and is a consultant for charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).
He said reports Eriksen has been awake in hospital are "a very good sign".
Prof Sharma added: “I’m very pleased. The fact he's stable and awake, his outlook is going to be very good.
"I don't know whether he'll ever play football again."
Prof Sharma believes it would be up to both the player and the club to assess the risks of continuing to play.
He said: "The good news is he will live, the bad news is he was coming to the end of his career, so would he play another professional football game, that I can't say.
"In the UK he wouldn't play. We'd be very strict about it."
One of the doctors who treated Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba agreed there could "only be assumptions" about Eriksen's future.
Mr Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest during the FA Cup quarter-final in 2012 - and was technically dead for 76 minutes, but made a full recovery.
Dr Sam Mohiddin told BBC news: "The cardiac arrest is a moment of extreme peril.
“If you don't get someone out of cardiac arrest things are over. You will not survive.
"The ongoing risk to an individual to an extent depends on the precise cause of that cardiac arrest."
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