I'm not scared of bullies in the game: Eriksen

LONDON • Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen says he has no qualms about playing with a heart-starting device implant in a league as physical as the Premier League.

The 29-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest during his country's Euro 2020 opener against Finland in Copenhagen last June. He was given life-saving treatment and his shocking collapse made headlines across the world.

He is now fitted with a special heart-starting device known as an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). The former Tottenham Hotspur star was forced to terminate his contract with Inter Milan in December because footballers fitted with an ICD are not permitted to play in Italy's Serie A.

But the Premier League has no such rule, enabling him to sign for Brentford last month as a free agent for the rest of the season.

Although he is nearing a return, Eriksen is still not fit enough to play for the first time since his collapse and will need "a few more weeks" in training.

However, when he does play for the first time in over eight months, he is ready for the rough and tumble that is the English top flight.

"I don't really have any scared feelings about it, I don't feel my ICD, so if it gets hit I know it is safe enough," he told BBC Sport. "I am not scared of the challenges ahead and the bullies in the game, no.

"I feel like me, so don't see a reason why I can't get back to the same level."

He added that the doctors who treated him believe his cardiac arrest was a one-time occurrence as he had neither any history of cardiac issues nor family problems.

"I have been cleared to do everything from the doctors, so in that sense it doesn't really matter what was the reason," Eriksen said.

"Continuously, I have been given the green light that everything is OK for the future. I don't see any risk, no. I have an ICD, if anything would happen then I am safe."

Eriksen spent seven years at Spurs before his transfer to Inter in 2020. He was a pivotal member of Mauricio Pochettino's side that finished as runners-up in 2016/17 and reached the Champions League final in 2019.

He was yesterday officially unveiled as a Brentford player but admitted there was still a fair bit of work to do before he is match fit.

"I've done a lot of running, 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 said.

"I think it will get more and more obvious the closer it gets to being in a real game - being in a stadium, being in a game, you get all the emotion and adrenaline from that."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS