Christian Eriksen has been recalled to the Denmark squad for the first time since suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch at Euro 2020.
The midfielder collapsed during Denmark’s game against Finland in Copenhagen last year and received life-saving treatment on the pitch. Eriksen was later fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device, a type of pacemaker intended to prevent fatal cardiac arrests by discharging a jolt to restore regular heart rhythm.
The 30-year-old signed as a free agent for Premier League club Brentford in January after former club Inter Milan terminated his contract, as Serie A rules do not permit footballers to play in Italy’s top division with an ICD fitted.
He made his Brentford debut as a substitute in the 2-0 Premier League defeat to Newcastle on February 26 and has since started in back-to-back victories for the Bees.
Denmark is set to play friendly matches against the Netherlands on March 26 and Serbia on March 29.
At the end of last year, Eriksen was training with former club Odense Boldklub in Denmark and the 30-year-old said in January that his heart was “not an obstacle” to his ambitions of a return to football and to feature at the 2022 World Cup.
The Danes have already qualified for this year’s World Cup and Eriksen said that it would be “a dream” to represent Denmark in Qatar.
