Christian Eriksen says his health is ‘100 per cent secure’ before Brentford debut, but Premier League return was never on the cards before cardiac arrest

Christian Eriksen has told talkSPORT his health ‘100 per cent secure’ ahead of return to football with Brentford, but returning to England was never on his mind before his cardiac arrest.

Eriksen joined Brentford on a six-month deal on the final day of the January transfer window, making an inspiring return to the Premier League.

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The 29-year-old hasn’t played football since he suffered a cardiac arrest on-pitch against Finland in Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener on June 10, when his life was saved by paramedics.

The former Tottenham midfielder was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator [ICD] to control the pace of his heart, but that unfortunately saw the termination of his contract with Inter Milan.

Italian sporting rules prohibit athletes from playing with the device, but the same doesn’t apply in England with Premier League clubs soon registering their interest in the player.

Erikson is now set to return to action with Brentford, although Bees boss Thomas Frank hasn’t put a date when that will be.

In Erikson’s mind though, he has no doubts about the safety of his return, as he told talkSPORT.

“If there was any anxiety I wouldn’t go back,” he said. 

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“If I wasn’t fully committed and trusting the doctors and my heart and my ICD then I wouldn’t go back, so I feel 100% secure to go back.”

Joining Brentford amid links to former club Spurs, Eriksen also told talkSPORT about the role Bees manager Frank played in him choosing the Community Stadium.

He also explained that despite regular rumours, there were no plans to leave Italy before his accident.

“[Frank] was very important,” Eriksen explained. “He obviously wanted me to come here if it was possible, and at the time it was the perfect mix for me as a football player and also the family.

“Before I was not planning on coming back to England, that was not on my mind. 

“But after the incident it became clearer and clearer the longer it went on that I couldn’t play in Italy because of the ICD. 

“And then of course my mindset changed that if it can’t be Italy the best option would be England and the Premier League, a London club for the family was the perfect mix.”