Watch Christian Eriksen Mark Brentford Debut With An Assist In First Match Since Cardiac Arrest

Christian Eriksen played his first match in more than eight months on Monday.

The former Tottenham playmaker made his Brentford debut in a friendly against a Southend United XI behind closed doors.

Eriksen played for 60 minutes in a 3-2 win and contributed with an assist.

Brentford posted footage on Twitter showing some of Eriksen's highlights from the game.

His assist came after he stole the ball in midfield with a tidy tackle, before sliding a perfectly-weighted pass to Josh Dasilva, who scored a hat-trick on the day.

A return to the pitch must have felt like a gift for Eriksen, who was celebrating his 30th birthday.

He not been involved in a proper match since June 12, when he suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark against Finland at Euro 2020.

Eriksen was later fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).

Italian rules dictate that players fitted with an ICD cannot play in Serie A, so Eriksen had his Inter Milan contract terminated by mutual consent in December.

A month later he joined Brentford on a short-term deal until the end of the season.

After making his debut in Monday's friendly, Eriksen's next big step will be to return to competitive action.

Brentford play at Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday, before hosting Newcastle United a week later.

Christian Eriksen seen clapping as he is presented as a Brentford player ahead of their game against Crystal Palace on February 12

IMAGO/Mark D Fuller