Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen has admitted the cardiac arrest he suffered during Denmark's Euro 2020 clash with Finland changed his life for the worse.
Eriksen collapsed while on the pitch during Denmark's Euro 2020 match against Finland. He was later let go by his club at the time, Inter Milan, because the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) that had to be installed in his chest and connected to his heart violated Serie A regulations.
The midfielder then joined Premier League side Brentford on the final day of the January transfer window last season but only spent six months in London, before moving to United on a free transfer in the summer.
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Eriksen finished the year by taking part in every minute of Denmark's World Cup run in Qatar - and his remarkable turnaround has now led to the midfielder being awarded the Comeback of the Year prize at the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards.
Speaking after collecting his award at Eriksen a ceremony in Paris, Eriksen said: "It has been an incredible last one-and-a-half years now. With a lot of ups and downs, obviously the biggest downs came at that point. It changed my life for the worse but luckily the doctors and medics and teammates around reacted quickly and got me back.
"I was lucky nothing serious happened. It happens, unluckily. What I learnt from this is that you forget the people around you, obviously, Sabrina [Eriksen's wife] gets emotional from being around when it happened, and you just have to focus for them.
"I’ve felt like myself when I came back and I've been myself since. I was myself anyway, only for that stupid moment. I haven’t changed.
"But I think I’ve started to enjoy my life, my wife, and kids more. I'm a bit more relaxed, not as nervous as I was before and I didn't feel like I was nervous before but it just changes your dynamic. Life is very good. Life is very important."
Eriksen has previously opened up about the incident. Speaking candidly about his cardiac arrest on Danish television channel DR1, Eriksen said: "I felt a small cramp in my calf and then I blacked out. When I woke up from the CPR it was like waking from a dream.
"I don’t remember a thing from when I passed out. I’m on my back when I wake up. I feel them pressing on me. I struggled to breathe – and then I heard voices and doctors talking. I’m thinking, ‘this can’t be me lying here, I’m healthy’.
"My first thought is that I broke my back. ‘Can I move my legs? I can move my toes'. It’s not until I’m in the ambulance that I realise I had been dead.
"I’m thinking, ‘keep my boots, I won’t play again’. I tell my fiancée Sabrina the same – ‘I’m not going to play again, no way’."
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