‘Couple of guys hugged him hard’: Denmark goalkeeper recalls Christian Eriksen’s first visit to training after recovery

Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel recalled how the team reacted when midfielder Christian Eriksen made his first visit to the team’s training area following his recovery. Eriksen had suffered a cardiac arrest during the team’s opening Euro 2020 match against Finland and he was rushed to the hospital, where he stayed for a number of days.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Denmark’s Round of 16 clash against Wales, Schmeichel said that the players were really happy to see him.

“I think a couple of the guys maybe hugged him quite hard. But it was just really nice to see him, you know, healthy and in good spirits,” he was quoted as saying by CNN.

“He came to training and we were out on the pitch — it was a great moment. It was nice to see him. I was lucky enough to be able to visit him in the hospital and to see him there, but for a lot of the boys that was the first time for them seeing him. So, naturally, training stopped straight away and everyone went over to him,” he added.

“I think the most important thing for us was to know that Christian was okay. It was great to see him, he came by the camp when he came out of hospital and that helped a lot of the guys, I think, just to see him and to just to erase the last image we had of him on the pitch,” the Leicester City goalkeeper further said.

“To see him in real life and to see that he was OK was really important, and it gave us the space to go and focus on the game because we were under pressure in a football sense, but I think, as you see, we didn’t play like a side under pressure.

“We played with freedom and we played with an identity that was something that we’ve discussed for a long, long time and [I’m] really, really proud of everybody,” he signed off.