Eriksen stable, sends greetings to teammates

Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen remained in hospital and was in stable condition on Sunday, after collapsing during his side's Euro 2020 opening match with Finland and being given CPR on the pitch on Saturday, the Danish football association said.

"This morning we have spoken to Christian Eriksen, who has sent his greetings to his teammates. His condition is stable, and he continues to be hospitalized for further examination," Danish FA DBU said on Twitter.

Eriksen, 29, collapsed suddenly in the 42nd minute of the match while running near the left touchline after a Denmark throw-in. As a hush fell over the 16,000-strong crowd, his teammates gathered around him while he was treated on the pitch and then carried off on a stretcher.

"The team and the staff of the national team has received crisis assistance and will continue to be there for each other after yesterday's incident," DBU said.

"We would like to thank everyone for the heartfelt greetings to Christian Eriksen from fans, players, the royal families from both Denmark and England, international associations, clubs etc," it said.

The Group B game was halted and then eventually restarted an hour and 45 minutes later. Finland went on to win 1-0.

Messages of support for Eriksen, who plays for Inter Milan, have poured in.

Inter Milan director Giuseppe Marotta has dismissed suggestions that club midfielder Christian Eriksen, who was hospitalised after collapsing in Denmark's Euro 2020 opener against Finland on Saturday, had previously contracted COVID-19.

Sanjay Sharma of St. George's University of London, the playmaker's cardiologist at former club Tottenham Hotspur, said Eriksen had no prior heart issues during his time with the Premier League side.

However, he told the Mail on Sunday (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-9680381/Christian-Eriksens-former-doctor-Tottenham-claims-miracle-footballer-survived.html) that some players may have had sub-clinical COVID-19 infections, which could have resulted in "scarring" of the heart.

Marotta dismissed that suggestion.

"He didn't have COVID and wasn't vaccinated either," he told Rai Sport.

He said Eriksen was under the guidance of the Danish medical staff and it was for them to release information but Inter had been in touch with them.

"I can say the Inter medical staff have been in contact with them from the start."

Sharma said Eriksen had returned normal tests at Spurs since 2013, but the sight of the player falling to the ground had briefly raised concerns that doctors had missed something.

"I thought, 'Oh my God? Is there something there that we didn't see?' But I have looked at all the test results and everything looked perfect," Sharma said.

"From the day we signed him, it was my job to screen him and we tested him every year. So certainly his tests up to 2019 were completely normal, with no obvious underlying cardiac fault. I can vouch for that because I did the tests."