Christian Eriksen has been told he can leave Inter Milan after it was confirmed that his heart condition would not allow him to compete in Serie A, but the Danish midfielder could find himself back in England, where the same blanket ban does not apply.
The Football Association has told i that a decision over whether Eriksen would be allowed to resume their career in England would be made on an “individual basis”; the Italian FA’s rules forbid players from playing with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device.
Eriksen, 29, suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark against Finland in a Euro 2020 match in Copenhagen in June and was resuscitated with a defibrillator on the pitch before being taken to hospital for further treatment.
Following further examinations, Eriksen was fitted with an ICD device, which is designed to correct abnormal changes in a heartbeat. An ICD has three wires that are connected to the heart which send low-voltage electrical pulses or larger shocks to the heart to restore its natural rhythm.
Francesco Braconaro, a member of the Italian Football Federation’s technical scientific committee, said in August that Eriksen would be unable to play in Italy so long as he had an ICD fitted. On Friday, Inter Milan released a statement that read: “With reference to the registration rights of the player Eriksen, it should be noted that following a serious injury which occurred during the European Championship in June 2021, the player has been temporarily inhibited by the Italian medical authority from sporting activity in the current season.
“Although the current conditions of the player don’t meet the requirements of achieving sporting fitness in Italy, the same could instead be achieved in other countries where the player could resume competitive activity.”
However, the FA has confirmed that the requirements in Italy are not the same as in the UK. An FA spokesman told i: “In Italy, there is a longstanding nationwide cardiac screening policy which runs across all sports participation and does not allow participation in a case of increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest during exercise. This has not been adopted in other countries, including the UK.”
In England, a sports cardiologist from the FA’s Cardiac Consensus Panel would assess a player found to have an abnormal cardiac screen or to have developed a cardiac-related problem and a decision over whether they would be allowed to resume their career would be based on “individual circumstances” and the “risk surrounding the player”.
The FA also confirmed that it oversees “around 1,500 cardiac screens in professional football per year”.
Eriksen hasn’t commented publicly about whether he intends to resume his playing career. The Dane last posted on social media on 4 August when he was reunited with his Inter team-mates for the first time since suffering a cardiac arrest.
When asked by i whether the former Tottenham playmaker would theoretically be able to play in the Premier League again, the FA asserted that an individual assessment would have to be made, but did not rule out passing Eriksen fit to compete again in England.
Players are allowed to play with an ICD in other countries, such as the Netherlands, where Eriksen’s former Ajax team-mate Daley Blind was fitted with an ICD in December 2019 and has played regularly for the Dutch club in domestic and European competitions since, as well as for the Dutch national team at Euro 2020.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2ZFLN4c
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