Christian Eriksen Makes Return for Brentford 8 Months After Suffering Cardiac Arrest

Christian Eriksen made his return to competitive soccer Saturday, eight months after going into cardiac arrest during a match at UEFA Euro 2020.

Eriksen took the pitch for Brentford during their English Premier League home game with Newcastle United:

The Denmark native entered the match in the 52nd minute as a substitute for Mathias Jensen.

While Brentford fell 2-0 to Newcastle, Eriksen's appearance at Brentford Community Stadium in London saw him greeted with applause around the stadium:

Eriksen has long been a top player for several notable clubs, including Ajax, Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan. He has also been Denmark's biggest star in international play for years.

After the 30-year-old required emergency care at Euro 2020 in June, however, there were concerns about whether he would survive, let alone play again.

Emergency personnel saved Eriksen's life, and he recently said he told the paramedics who tended to him to keep his boots because he believed his playing career was over.

At the time of his cardiac arrest, Eriksen was under contract with Inter Milan in Italy. He was no longer allowed to compete in Serie A due to the country's rules on playing sports with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which led to his signing with Brentford last month.

Now, Eriksen is playing once again and in a pressure-packed situation.

Brentford returned to the highest level of English soccer this season for the first time since the 1946-47 campaign, and it is fighting to keep its spot.

In 15th place, the Bees are just three points clear of relegation, and they have played at least one more match than every team behind them.

It remains to be seen how many minutes Eriksen will get, but given that he is perhaps Brentford's most talented player, he could play a big role in deciding whether the club remains in the top tier.