Ben Davies reveals Christian Eriksen has warned Wales they will be in for a ‘TOUGH one’ against Denmark in the last 16 of the Euros… having caught up with his ex-Tottenham team-mate following his ‘horrific’ cardiac arrest
Wales’ Ben Davies has revealed his former Tottenham team-mate Christian Eriksen has been talking up Denmark’s chances ahead of the last-16 Euros clash on Saturday as he continues his recovery from his cardiac arrest.
Eriksen collapsed during Denmark’s defeat by Finland in their opening match of Euro 2020 before requiring 13 minutes of CPR on the pitch in Copenhagen. The 29-year-old was then transferred to hospital and later fitted with a implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to regulate the rhythm of his heart before he was discharged last week.
Eriksen has since watched on while his Denmark team-mates continued their Euro 2020 journey, and would have been thrilled following their progression to the last-16 following their emphatic 4-1 victory over Russia on Monday.
And Davies has since revealed that he spoke to Eriksen immediately after Denmark set-up their last-16 fixture against Wales in Amsterdam, with the Dane warning the left back of his side’s threat.
Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen is continuing his recovery from his cardiac arrest
Ben Davies has revealed he has spoken to Eriksen a ‘few times’ now, and is in ‘good spirits’
‘I spoke to him [Eriksen] last night after the [Denmark-Russia] game and he said that we’ll be in for a tough one,’ Eriksen told the Guardian.
Davies enjoyed six seasons with Eriksen at Tottenham, and the pair became close friends during their time together in north London.
And Davies has now opened up on what was going through his head after witnessing his former team-mate’s terrifying ordeal against Finland in Copenhagen.
‘It was pretty horrific,’ Davies insisted. ‘He is a good friend and I just didn’t know what was happening.
Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland
‘I was on the phone to quite a lot of our mutual friends – it was a bit of a worry and a panicked stage at the time. Thank God everything seems to be OK and that is he is healthy and happy.’
Davies went onto reveal that he has spoken to Eriksen a ‘few times’ now and appears to be in high spirits.
‘I’ve spoken to him a few times since,’ Davies added. ‘He seems to be in good spirits.
‘I don’t know what happens with him from here on out but it’s best we just let him have his privacy, let him spend time with his family and the most important thing is he’s still alive.’
Denmark celebrate after setting up a last-16 clash with Wales at the Euros on Monday night
Eriksen will be watching on from home as Denmark face Wales on the weekend, after booking their spot in the knockout stages in style despite an opening round defeat to Finland.
Denmark thrashed Russia 4-1 in Copenhagen thanks to goals from Mikkel Damsgaard, Andreas Christensen, Yussuf Poulsen and Joakim Maehle.
And after the match, defender Jens Stryger Larsen revealed Eriksen had texted his team-mates to congratulate them.
‘Christian immediately wrote to us in our group. It is fantastic that he supports us and is there for us,’ the Udinese right back told the mixed zone after the match.
Davies spent six seasons with Eriksen at Tottenham before the latter moved to Inter Milan