Christian Eriksen messaged Inter's WhatsApp group, says CEO Marotta

By Sports Desk June 12, 2021

Christian Eriksen has been in contact with his Inter team-mates as he recovers from a worrying collapse in Denmark's Euro 2020 opener against Finland, the club's CEO Giuseppe Marotta has said.

There were troubling scenes when Eriksen slumped to the ground with no one around him just before half-time of the Group B fixture in Copenhagen, with team-mates forming a protective circle around him as medical personnel rushed to his aid.

UEFA initially confirmed the fixture was suspended but a positive update from the Denmark Football Union later confirmed Eriksen was conscious and receiving further treatment in hospital.

The match would later resume, with Finland securing a 1-0 win in their first ever major tournament match, a result that was understandably overshadowed by the concerning events.

The world of football rallied around in their support of Eriksen, and Marotta offered further good news by revealing the former Tottenham star had messaged Inter's group chat on messaging service WhatsApp.

"We watched the images on TV that suggested something dramatic was happening, which unfortunately we have also seen on Italian pitches before," Marotta told Rai Sport, in quotes translated by Football Italia.

"The players are very close and we all immediately communicated with each other after seeing those images. We didn't want to be invasive and so tried to respect his [recovery] once we had been reassured.

"I can only say that 10 minutes ago Eriksen himself sent a message in our internal chat and this confirms the bond between the players."

Asked if he had an update on Eriksen's condition, Marotta added: "We're optimistic about Christian's condition, Denmark's staff told us that the situation is under control.

"I cannot enter into the merits, the player is under the control of the Danish national team. The best thing I can tell is that Eriksen responded positively, the intervention of [Simon] Kjaer and the doctors was very important."

Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen spoke about the incident with Danish newspaper B.T. saying: "We were called on the pitch when Christian fell over. 

"I did not get to see it, but it soon became clear that he had fallen over. When we got there, he was lying on his side and was breathing.

"We felt the pulse, but pretty quickly the picture changed, and then we started life-saving heart treatment."

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