Denmark's Eriksen starts comeback training with Ajax

Sports Desk :    |    ০৫:২৬ পিএম, ২০২২-০১-২৬

AFP, The Hague

Danish footballer Christian Eriksen, who went into cardiac arrest at last year's European Championships, is training with Ajax as he seeks a new club, the Amsterdam side said Tuesday.

Eriksen, 29, who has been fitted with a pacemaker, joined Jong Ajax, the reserve team of his former club after terminating his contract with Inter Milan by mutual consent in December.

Italian league rules bar players with pacemakers.

"Former Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen is training with Jong Ajax this week. The Danish international is working to keep his fitness levels until he finds a new club," Ajax said in a statement.

Eriksen joined Ajax at 16 in 2008, made his Eredivisie debut in 2010 and moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2013. "I am very happy to be here. At Ajax I know the people, it feels like coming home because I was here for so long. All facilities are available here and with Jong Ajax I can train at a high level in a group," Eriksen was quoted as saying in the statement.

"I want to be at my best again as soon as possible so that when I find a new club, I can perform well there as quickly as possible."

Eriksen signed a four-and-a-year deal with Inter Milan in January 2020, helping them to win the Serie A title last season. He suffered a dramatic cardiac arrest in Denmark's opening game at Euro 2020 against Finland in Copenhagen on June 12 and had to be resuscitated on the pitch.

Denmark then rode a wave of emotion at the tournament, reaching the semi-finals where they were knocked out by England.

The playmaker spent several days in hospital and had a pacemaker implanted to regulate his heartbeat. He said earlier this month he hopes to play in the World Cup in Qatar this year and was recently in training with his boyhood club Odense.

"If a former player and, moreover, a self-trained product of ours knocks on the door of the club in this situation, we have no doubts, of course he's welcome back," said John Heitinga, the coach of Jong Ajax, in a statement on the club website.

"Christian is a footballer who is an example for many of our boys, a source of inspiration for the youth to move up." English Premier League Club Brentford -- whose Danish boss Thomas Frank on Monday signed a new contract until 2025 -- have shown an interest in Eriksen, news agencies in England and the Netherlands reported.