Christian Eriksen was shockingly hit by a coin in a post-match interview following his performance for Denmark.
The Danes lost 4-2 to Holland in an international friendly on Saturday but their consolation was a dream return for Eriksen, who scored 288 days after suffering a cardiac arrest playing against Finland at Euro 2020. The 30-year-old Brentford player came on at half-time to a standing ovation before his sublime effort on his first touch made it 3-2.
But his display at the Johan Cruyff Arena, a stadium he often performed at when playing for former club Ajax, was marred by the actions of an individual who chucked a coin at the Brentford star. The trajectory hit the former Tottenham attacker’s arm and he turned around. Had it hit his head, the damage could have been more.
Steven Bergwijn, Nathan Ake and Memphis Depay's penalty put the Dutch 3-1 ahead after Jannik Vestergaard had shortly made it 1-1. Eriksen then scored to give the Danes a fighting chance, before Bergwijn got his brace with 20 minutes remaining.
Eriksen, who has 37 goals for his national side, spoke about his return to the national game. He said as cited by Sports Central: "I was happy the ball came to me. I thought it was a lovely finish and to start my international comeback like this is a perfect way. If you take away the result, I'm one happy man. To go through what I've been through, being back is a wonderful feeling."
Eriksen was playing for Italian champions Inter when he suffered a heart attack. Serie A rules state that players are not permitted to play while fitted with an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator). Consequently, Eriksen has his Inter contract terminated in December, before signing for fellow Dane Thomas Frank’s Brentford on a six-month deal.
The attacker made his first appearance against Newcastle, a 2-0 win for the Magpies, but he received a warm reception from both sets of fans as he entered the pitch from the substitutes bench.
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