On a weekend crying out for an uplifting moment from sports, Christian Eriksen provided it.
Just seeing Eriksen resuming his competitive footballing career, 259 days after collapsing mid-game with a cardiac arrest, was a moment to rejoice in west London on Saturday.
Even the opposition Newcastle players joined in the applause as Eriksen came on for his Brentford debut during Saturday’s Premier League game. It was seven minutes into the second half when the moment came for the playmaker to remove his grey training bib and appear for the first time on this field in a red-and-white striped Brentford jersey.
“I’m one happy man,” he said after a game tinged with the frustration of a 2-0 loss. “To go through what I’ve been through, being back is a wonderful feeling.”
The substitution had a link to that traumatic day at the European Championship when Eriksen had the world fearing the worst when he collapsed during Denmark’s opening game against Finland. The Brentford player who Eriksen came on for was Mathias Jensen. It was Jensen who replaced Eriksen in the team when that June tournament game resumed later in the day despite the distress of the star being in the hospital with an uncertain fate.
