Christian Eriksen sparkles in special Brentford debut
Robin Bairner
- 14 Feb 2022 12:04 CST
- 3 min read
Christian Eriksen made his return to a football pitch on Monday as he turned out for Brentford in a closed-doors friendly against Southend.
Eriksen hit the headlines in the summer when he required life-saving treatment from team-mate Simon Kjaer and medical staff during Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland because of a heart issue.
He has since been fitted with a pacemaker, although regulations in Italy meant that he was unable to be granted a licence as a professional player with Inter because of this medical intervention.
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As such, he was released by the Italian side and has instead joined Brentford – a move he has admitted was not on the cards until it became apparent he would not be allowed to continue with the Serie A side.
Eriksen had spent some time training with Ajax before moving to Brentford in January, and he is now stepping his game up with the idea of becoming a regular for the Premier League side.
Eriksen's Brentford debut
Indeed, he took to the field for the Bees for the very first time against a Southend XI on Monday, which happened to coincide with his 30th birthday.
It was an occasion that was made all the more special as the former Tottenham playmaker turned in a virtuoso display, as he created a goal for Josh Dasilva, who himself completed 90 minutes for the first time on his return from injury. Even this was a sharp piece of work from the Denmark star, who won possession in midfield before a slick through pass to his colleague.
⚽⚽⚽ @joshdasilva_
📄 Today's Match Report as @ChrisEriksen8 made his return to action ➡ https://t.co/tA0pQMg7KR#BrentfordFC pic.twitter.com/UOvXt1n6GZ— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) February 14, 2022
For his part, Eriksen only played an hour but was busy during this period. Indeed, he mustered a number of efforts on goal that required saving.
It is only Eriksen’s first step towards a first-team return after his cardiac arrest last June, but it was encouraging for both Brentford and the player to have come through the match as planned.
