Prince William ‘thinking about Christian Eriksen’ after he collapses on pitch

Prince William said it was ‘encouraging news’ after Uefa confirmed Christian Eriksen was in a stable condition after collapsing on the pitch (Picture: AFP/PA)

Prince William has said he is thinking about Christian Eriksen and his family after the Denmark star collapsed on the pitch at the Euros.

The 29-year-old midfielder dropped to the ground in Denmark’s match against Finland in Copenhagen, and received CPR before being taken to hospital.

The first-round Euro 2020 game was suspended with players from both sides in clear distress before resuming some two hours later. Finland won 1-0.

Uefa later confirmed that Eriksen had been ‘transferred to hospital’ and was ‘stabilised’.

The Duke of Cambridge is a big football fan and president of the FA, and sent his wishes to the midfielder.

He said in a Twitter message: ‘Encouraging news about Christian Eriksen, we are all thinking about him and his family.

‘Well done to the medical team and Anthony Taylor for their calm and swift action.’

Eriksen collapsed suddenly while running near the touchline after a Denmark throw-in (Picture: Getty Images)

Eriksen was evacuated off the pitch (Picture: AFP via Getty)

According to a sports cardiologist who previously worked with Eriksen at Tottenham, the midfielder is lucky to be alive and may never play again after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest.

Professor Sanjay Sharma, professor of sports cardiology at London’s St George’s University, said football bodies and medical practitioners were likely to be ‘very strict’ about allowing Eriksen, who is now with Italian club Inter Milan, to play again.

Prof Sharma said: ‘Clearly something went terribly wrong.

‘But they managed to get him back, the question is what happened? And why did it happen?

Denmark captain Simon Kjaer consoled Eriksen’s partner on the pitch (Picture: AFP via Getty)

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

Prof Sharma, who chairs the FA’s expert cardiac consensus group, said there were multiple reasons a cardiac arrest could have happened, such as high temperatures or an unidentified condition.

But he said reports after the match that Eriksen was awake in hospital were ‘a very good sign’.

‘I’m very pleased. The fact he’s stable and awake, his outlook is going to be very good,’ he said.

Denmark players were visibly distraught as they shielded Eriksen and the medics from view (Picture: AFP via Getty)

‘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.’

Prof Sharma added: ‘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.’

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand struggled to hold back the tears during his post-match press conference and revealed his side had the choice of finishing the Group B opener on the night or returning on Sunday.

Denmark fans were in shock as the tragic scenes unfolded on the pitch in Copenhagen (Picture: Getty)

‘It was more unmanageable to have to restart tomorrow. It was more unmanageable than going back out now and getting it all put behind us,’ he said.

‘I could not be more proud of this team, who take good care of each other.

‘There are players in there who are completely finished emotionally. Players who on another day could not play this match. They are supporting each other. It was a traumatic experience.’

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