Kyle Walker: Christian Eriksen’s return from cardiac arrest shows his character

Thu, 20 Jun, 2024 - 06:34

By Mark Mann-Bryans, PA, Frankfurt

Kyle Walker has praised the character of friend and former team-mate Christian Eriksen after he recovered from near-tragedy at Euro 2020 to represent Denmark three years later.

Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during a group game against Finland in Copenhagen with the game suspended until later in the evening.

With a defibrillator device fitted, Eriksen returned to football with Brentford.

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— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 16, 2024

Now at Manchester United, Eriksen’s story came full circle as he scored the only goal for Denmark in their opening draw against Slovenia last week.

Denmark take on England in Frankfurt on Thursday night where Eriksen will come up against a number of familiar faces.

One of them is Walker, the pair having played together at Tottenham between 2013 and 2017.

“He’s fantastic, it is a testament to him,” Manchester City defender Walker said of Eriksen’s comeback.

Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen (right) and Manchester City’s Kyle Walker battle for the ball during a Premier League match. Photo: Martin Rickett/PA.

“Obviously, us both playing in Manchester for the different clubs we do bump into each other from time to time and have a catch up.

“But for what he’s done and what he’s achieved after the sad incident that happened, it just shows what a character he is and what he possesses really.”

Walker also pinpointed Eriksen’s threat as a reason why England would not be taking Denmark lightly, with Gareth Southgate’s side aware that victory would seal progression into the last 16.

“I don’t think we underestimate any opponent that we play,” he added.

“I think that you have to give them the level of respect that they deserve. Obviously, they’ve got a number of players in the Premier League.

“I played a number of years with Christian Eriksen at Tottenham and in some moments he can produce magic on the drop of the hat.

“We go into the game fully focused and wanting the three points as we did the other night and hopefully we can play a little bit better in the second half and hopefully the nerves have gone a little bit.”