The Danish star will make his Brentford debut on Saturday night Premier League action against Newcastle United.
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Danish star Christian Eriksen is set for a miraculous return to football in the Premier League action for Brentford on Saturday, eight months after he collapsed on the pitch while representing his national team against Finland in the last European Championship. The tragic moment saw one of the veteran and best midfielders of the game collapse. He was later given CPR and an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was used to reset his heart so it could pump blood properly. It was also assumed that it could well be the end of his career but Saturday night will mark his stunning return to the game.
It was possible only after he underwent an operation to have an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) fitted. The 30-year-old will, thus, become the first top-flight player fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) when he takes on the pitch for the Thomas Frank-managed side.
Frank was worried about Eriksen’s life after he turned breathless for five minutes. “I watched the game, and at that moment in time I didn’t think about if he was playing football (again) or not – the only concern I had was that he was brought back to life,” said Frank, who had a spell in charge of Denmark’s youth international teams early in his career, told the Independent.
“When you have got that confirmed, I think that was 45 minutes to an hour after, then that was the big, big thing.
“Instantly when I saw him go to the ground, I could just see that is was not naturally, so, you know, we talked about that: ‘this is not good for him’.
“Then when then you knew it was fine and the next six, seven months, there was a lot of calls.
“I have coached more than half of the (Denmark) national team and a lot of the staff members are friends, close personal friends, so for all of them involved closely it was of course big to see him (improving) as the days went on after.
“For me, life moves on and the good thing is because he was alive then it is a little bit more natural,” he added.
READ MORE: Christian Eriksen transfer: Danish midfielder completes move to Brentford
An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is a small battery-powered device placed in the chest to detect and stop irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias), according to mayoclinic.org. An ICD continuously monitors the heartbeat and delivers electric shocks, when needed, to restore a regular heart rhythm.
An ICD is required if if one has a dangerously fast heartbeat that keeps their heart from supplying enough blood to the rest of the body (such as ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation) or if they are at high risk of such a heart rhythm problem (arrhythmia), usually because of a weak heart muscle.
The ICD differs from a pacemaker.
The ICD is basically of two types — traditional and subcutaneous.
The traditional ICD is implanted in the chest, and the wires (leads) attach to the heart. The implant procedure requires invasive surgery, according to mayoclinic.org while a subcutaneous ICD (S-ICD) is another option that’s implanted under the skin at the side of the chest below the armpit. It’s attached to an electrode that runs along the breastbone. An S-ICD is larger than a traditional ICD but doesn’t attach to the heart.
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