Christian Eriksen stable but may not play football again, says sport cardiologist

"This guy had normal tests all the way up to 2019 so how do you explain this cardiac arrest?"

A leading sports cardiologist has said that Danish footballer Christian Eriksen is unlikely to play professionally again after suffering what was reported to be a cardiac arrest during Saturday's Euro 2020 game. The midfielder collapsed on the pitch during his country's game against Finland, having to be resuscitated and taken to hospital where the 29-year-old is reported to be in stable condition. However, it has not yet been publicly confirmed what was behind his sudden cardiac event. Sanjay Sharma, a professor of sports cardiology at St George's University in London who worked with Eriksen during his time at Tottenham Hotspur has now said that "clearly something went terribly wrong". "But they managed to get him back, the question is what happened? And why did it happen?", Sharma told the PA news agency. "This guy had normal tests all the way up to 2019 so how do you explain this cardiac arrest?" He also said that UK football bodies and football bodies globally will likely be "very strict" about allowing Eriksen to play again professionally, given that he was "coming to the end of his career". "His cardiac arrest has rocked the entire nation today and that's what happens. It's not just them that it affects, it's the psyche of so many people," he continued. "The good news is he will live, the bad news is he was coming to the end of his career, so would he play another professional football game? That I can't say. In the UK he wouldn't play. We'd be very strict about it." Sharma who chairs the FA's expert cardiac consensus group said that the cardiac arrest could be due to an unidentified health condition. However, the cardiologist said that reports that he is in stable condition in hospital are "a very good sign". "The fact he's stable and awake, his outlook is going to be very good, I don't know whether he'll ever play football again. "Without putting it too bluntly, he died today, albeit for a few minutes, but he did die, and would the medical professional allow him to die again? The answer is no."