Inter Milan director Giuseppe Marotta has dismissed suggestions that Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen had previously tested positive for Covid-19 but said neither was he vaccinated before the start of Euro 2020. Eriksen, 29, was <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/euro-2020-christian-eriksen-stable-in-hospital-after-collapsing-during-denmark-s-opening-match-1.1239881">hospitalised after collapsing in Denmark's match against Finland in Copenhagen on Saturday.</a> The sight of the playmaker falling to the ground in the 42nd minute of the match near the touchline after a Denmark throw-in shocked onlookers and left players on both sides visibly distressed. He was given life-saving cardiac massage treatment on the pitch, with officials later saying the player was stable and awake. The Danish Football Association released a statement on Sunday saying: "This morning we have spoken to Christian Eriksen, who has sent his greetings to his teammates. His condition is stable, and he continues to be hospitalised for further examination," the football body said in a post to Twitter. DBU also said that the team and staff had "received crisis assistance and will continue to be there for each other after yesterday's incident." Sanjay Sharma of St George's University of London, the playmaker's cardiologist at former club Tottenham Hotspur, said Eriksen had no prior heart issues during his time with the Premier League side between 2013-2020. However, in quotes reported by the Mail on Sunday, Sharma said that some players may have had sub-clinical Covid-19 infections, which could have resulted in "scarring" of the heart. Marotta dismissed that suggestion and said Inter medical officials were in constant contact with their Danish counterparts about Eriksen's condition. "He didn't have Covid and wasn't vaccinated either," Marotta told Rai Sport. "I can say the Inter medical staff have been in contact with them from the start." Marotta's comments are sure to add to the debate around whether all squads taking part in the European Championship should have been vaccinated ahead of the month-long tournament that is being held across the continent under Covid protocols. For instance, the Spain team only received their first doses of vaccines on Friday, the day the tournament kicked off, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/euro-2020-luis-enrique-and-spain-happy-to-wait-for-sergio-busquets-to-recover-1.1238832">and after captain Sergio Busquets had tested positive</a>. Portugal defender Joao Cancelo on Sunday was ruled out of the tournament after testing positive for the coronavirus. Sharma said Eriksen had returned normal tests at Spurs since 2013, but the sight of the player falling to the ground had briefly raised concerns that doctors had missed something. "I thought, 'Oh my God? Is there something there that we didn't see?' But I have looked at all the test results and everything looked perfect," Sharma said. "From the day we signed him, it was my job to screen him and we tested him every year. So certainly his tests up to 2019 were completely normal, with no obvious underlying cardiac fault. I can vouch for that because I did the tests." Former Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba said that Eriksen's collapse brought back painful memories of his cardiac arrest on the pitch in an FA Cup match in 2012. The ex-England Under 21 midfielder had to retire soon after at the age of 24. "It brought back stuff that I have put down in me, this emotion that's down there. To watch it from that distance and not know what was going to happen," Muamba told the BBC. "It was scary, but credit to the medical staff. They have done an amazing job on Christian. I like how his teammates got together to protect him. "I hope things turn out to be OK for him. I hope he'll come through." Eriksen laid on the field for about 15 minutes before being carried off the pitch and rushed to hospital. The game was temporarily suspended awaiting confirmation that Eriksen was alright but after reports that the player was in a stable condition and awake, the game was resumed later in the evening, ending in a 1-0 win for underdogs Finland. A Sunday press conference with the DBU was cancelled in the morning and the team's scheduled training session has also been postponed indefinitely, broadcaster TV2 reported.
