Christian Eriksen has made his long-awaited return to competitive football, eight months after suffering a heart attack while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020.
The 30-year-old made his first Premier League for Brentford against Newcastle United, coming off the bench for Thomas Frank's side in the second half after signing for the Bees in January.
His return, replacing fellow Danish international Mathias Jensen, was labelled "a wonderful moment" by Gary Lineker on social media.
Jensen was the player who came off the bench for Denmark at Euro 2020 after Eriksen collapsed on the pitch, replacing his colleague during the game in Copenhagen in June.
The former Tottenham Hotspur star took to the field with Frank's side trailing 2-0 after teammate Josh Dasilva was shown an early red card, with goals from Joelinton and Joe Willock giving Newcastle their two-goal advantage., and that's how the game ended after a goalless second half.
Can Christian Eriksen help keep Brentford in the Premier League? Have your say in the comments section
Eriksen had made a number of appearances in friendlies as he worked his way back to match fitness, recording an assist in a behind-closed-doors game against a Southend XI and also playing a part in a 2-2 draw with Rangers in Glasgow.
"I won't change my style of play," Eriksen told the BBC earlier in the month as he neared his return.
"I have had the time to be disciplined for the last six months to do extras, so even now maybe I am in a better condition than before, just the football missing.
"I feel like me so don't see a reason why I can't get back to the same level.
"I have done a lot of running and a lot of tests, so the condition is good, but the football touch is something you get in games - to get there is still a few more weeks," he explained in the BBC interview, which was published shortly before his return to behind-closed-doors action.
"At the moment, when the coach sees me fit and wants me to play then I'll be able to. But at the moment we just take it day by day."
The Denmark playmaker had been fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), in order to facilitate his return to professional football after his heart attack over the summer.
This meant he was unable to continue his career with Inter Milan due to Italian regulations, but Frank welcomed the opportunity to work with his compatriot after their time together in the Danish youth international setup.
“We have taken an unbelievable opportunity to bring a World Class player to Brentford. He hasn’t trained with a team for seven months but has done a lot of work on his own," Frank said after clinching a January transfer deadline day deal to bring Eriksen to west London.
"He is fit but we will need to get him match fit and I am looking forward to seeing him work with the players and staff to get back towards his highest level."
