Eight months after the cardiac arrest that had caused fear for his life, Christian Eriksen is living with the trepidation of a rookie the hours that now separate him from the sensational return to the field.
A second debut in the Premier League: not so much because in the English top flight the Danish midfielder has already played with Tottenham before the two years at Inter, but because what will start tomorrow, when Brentford will face Newcastle, will be the second half of his football career.
Which most believed had ended early, and dramatically, last June during the Euro 2020 meeting between Denmark and Finland.
During the first half Eriksen, suddenly and for no apparent reason, had collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Only the timely intervention of the doctors had averted the worst.
Following the diagnosis of the causes of the illness, a subcutaneous defibrillator was applied to him in the following weeks, an indispensable device for the health of the Dane but forbidden to professional sportsmen by CONI, and therefore also by the FIGC.
Hence the inevitable termination of contact with Inter.
In the meantime, however, Eriksen had not lost hope of returning and, gradually, had resumed training, cultivating the unconfessable dream of participating in the world championships in Qatar with his national team.
The best way to cancel the nightmare lived at Telia Parken in Copenhagen, where for three long minutes his heart had stopped beating.
Brentford, a London club recently promoted to the Premier League, offered him the longed-for opportunity and offered him a six-month bridging contract.
Having found the agreement without problems, and positively passed the careful medical and health checks, especially cardiological, to which he had to undergo to obtain sports fitness, the 30-year-old Dane has been training with the Bees for a few weeks.
On Monday another milestone in his rapprochement, the friendly against Rangers in which he served two assists in the 76 minutes in which he remained on the pitch.
The go-ahead that Brentford coach Thomas Frank was obviously waiting for to give him the first call-up.
And if it will be a starting shirt, even better.
But already the bench, for now, is an unexpected joy.
"It will be a great day for all of us, but above all for Christian and his family - the words of the coach -. The fundamental point is that all the necessary checks have been made and the risks are zero. And then his family agrees too. that Christian's place is on a soccer field. "
