DENMARK keeper Kasper Schmeichel said it was ‘damn nice’ to see Christian Eriksen laughing and smiling in hospital after his cardiac arrest.
The Leicester stopper described it as a ‘wonderful’ to see and chat to his team-mate after the ‘violent experience’ on the Copenhagen pitch on Saturday.
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Eriksen, 29, collapsed during Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland and the team doctor said he ‘was gone’ before they started cardiac resuscitation.
He needed 13 minutes of intense medical treatment – including CPR and defibrillator shocks – but was thankfully stretchered off the pitch awake soon after.
It was confirmed on Sunday the former Tottenham man had suffered a cardiac arrest but was stable.
And he sent a brief message to the public – as reported by Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday.
Danish goalkeeper Schmeichel was one of Eriksen’s group of family and friends who were allowed in to see him over the weekend before resuming training with the rest of Denmark’s team on Monday.
And ahead of the session, the 34-year-old said: “It was damn nice to see him smile and laugh and be himself. Just notice that he is there.
“It was a wonderful experience and something that has helped me see that he was okay after lying there.
“We talked about nothing and everything. As long as he is well – that has been the most important thing. He has experienced something that we have not experienced.
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“He has a completely different experience of the situation. It was great to talk to him, and now we have a lot of work to try to navigate.”
Asked about his own recollection of the harrowing situation, the Foxes stopper added: “It’s a violent experience.
“But he is here today, and I am very grateful for that. The only heroes there are are the doctors who saved him.
“We are professional football players, but these people dedicate their lives to saving people. That they could do it under that pressure.
“I cannot describe how much admiration I have for them. That they could bring him back is a miracle.
“I even think about how I would have my team-mates react if I was lying there. And then we have some amazing people on this team. A captain and a coach who knows how to act.
“It characterises us as a team and country that we stand together until the very end.
“Personally, I tried to imagine if it was me who was lying there. I knew Christian’s wife, children, and parents were there, so at one point I tried to look for them.
“It is an inhuman situation for them to go through.”
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Schmeichel reassured Eriksen’s wife Sabrina Kvist Jensen as she ran down the touchline on Saturday and told her ‘he breathes’.
Denmark captain Simon Kjaer has been widely hailed for his decisive action just moments after Eriksen collapsed.
The 32-year-old AC Milan defender dashed from his position and pushed aside other players to immediately place Eriksen into the recovery position, clearly unconscious.
Kjaer realised what was going on and worked to stop the 29-year-old from swallowing his tongue and then took the life-saving decision to start giving CPR on his stricken friend.
And Schmeichel was full of admiration for his national team skipper who also visited Eriksen on Sunday.
He added: “I am incredibly proud to have him as captain.
“It does not surprise me that he did as he did. He has an incredibly sensitive and human side of him.
“Simon and Christian spend a lot of time together in Milan as they live close to each other.
“We did not make any decisions. We did, as we did. I think it’s a very natural thing. Simon… I do not know what to say. He is an exceptional person.”
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