The Danish Football Union (DBU) announced Thursday that Christian Eriksen, who suffered a cardiac arrest during his country’s Euro 2020 opener last weekend, will have a heart defibrillator implanted.
Eriksen is recovering in a Copenhagen hospital after collapsing during Denmark’s European Championship game against Finland.
According to the Danish federation, doctors determined that Eriksen requires an ICD — implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.
”This device is necessary after a cardiac attack due to rhythm disturbances,” the federation said in a statement. ”Christian has accepted the solution and the plan has moreover been confirmed by specialists nationally and internationally who all recommend the same treatment. We encourage everybody to give Christian and his family peace and privacy the following time.”
An ICD monitors a person’s heartbeat and can send electrical pulses to restore a normal rhythm if necessary.
Daley Blind, a Dutch defender, continues to play professionally despite having an ICD. After being diagnosed with an inflamed heart muscle in 2019, he had one fitted.
Denmark plays Belgium in its second Euro 2020 game on Thursday. The game will feature a minute’s applause for Eriksen in the 10th minute in honor of his No. 10 national team shirt.
