Danish international Christian Eriksen, who suffered a cardiac arrest at last summer's European Championship and underwent implantation of a pacemaker, expressed his hope of participating in the World Cup in Qatar at the end of this year during a television interview with a local channel aired on Tuesday. Eriksen terminated his contract with Inter by mutual consent in December, as the Italian league prohibits players from using pacemakers.
In an excerpt released on Tuesday from a lengthy interview set to air later this week on the "DR" channel, Eriksen said, "I want to play football. There is no reason not to do that." He confirmed that doctors "said there is no problem with that, they said things are good. So everything is stable, and I feel like I have the green light to play football again."
The 29-year-old continued, "My goal is to play in the World Cup in Qatar," adding that "the issue of whether I get called up or not is a different matter... but... I can come back." The former Tottenham player experienced cardiac arrest during Denmark's first match in the continental tournament against Finland in Copenhagen on June 12 and was resuscitated on the field. Denmark, fueled by emotions, reached the semifinals before losing to England.
The playmaker spent a few days in the hospital and underwent pacemaker implantation. He recently returned to training with Odense, his childhood team. According to the Danish daily "BT," Eriksen focused primarily on physical training, but he also practiced with the ball, though he does not plan to play with the team.
