(Football news) The 30 year old midfielder collapsed during Denmark's match against Finland at Euro 2020 and needed to be treated on the field before being rushed to the hospital. He was subsequently fitted with an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) to monitor his heart beat and it also sends shocks to the heart if necessary, but the Italian FA have ruled out Eriksen’s fitness as they cannot rely on ICD heart starter and therefore he is not allowed to play in Serie A.
Italy bans players both professional and amateur players from competing in the league if they have any significant heart abnormalities and the FA revealed that the Dane must have it removed to play in Italy again, as it will show that he would have no further heart problems. This will certainly make Erisken move out of Italy and go somewhere else. Former Manchester United player Daley Blind was also fitted with an ICD after being diagnosed with heart muscle inflammation, but has continued to play for Ajax as well as play for Holland internationally.
In a club statement on Thursday, Inter Milan said: "With reference to the registration rights of the player Eriksen, it should be noted that following a serious injury which occurred during the European Championship in June 2021, the player has been temporarily inhibited by the Italian medical authority from sporting activity in the current season. Although the current conditions of the player don't meet the requirements of achieving sporting fitness in Italy, the same could instead be achieved in other countries where the player could resume competitive activity,"
Leading NHS cardiologist Dr Scott Murray claimed: “It probably is (the end of his career) for him. The Italians stop people participating in sport if they are found to have a significant cardiac abnormality, it's in law. They've been doing that for a long time, beyond 20 years and they've reduced the death rates from cardiac arrests in sport from beyond 3 percent down to below one percent. He (Eriksen) comes from an Italian club so he must have had all of the tests before he started (playing for Inter). The Italians are the best at screening for heart disease in competitive athletes. Italy has the greatest pre-participation screening in the world which tries to reduce events, but he still has an event on the pitch. So even if you screen, it can still happen. It's going to be difficult for him to eliminate, he's still going to (be) that 0.01 percent of people who will still have something happen”
According to the rumour mill Erisken might be tempted to go back to Dutch side Ajax if there is a possibility, the Everdivise does not have the same restrictions as Serie A which could mean he would be able to continue playing with an ICD. It is thought that the nineteen-time Italian champions do not expect to sell Eriksen for a fee, but instead will terminate his contract and allow him to join another club.
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The risk of playing with a heart problem is quite serious as we saw with Sergio Aguero who has been ruled with a cardiac evaluation, after he complained of chest pain during Barca’s 1-1 draw against Alaves. Heart issues are something that over the past years have been taken very seriously as the intensity and physical exertion of the sport sometimes takes toll on the body, the FA’s have made it mandatory for clubs to conduct regular medicals of the players to check their fitness and any other problems.
