Euro 2020: After Christian Eriksen, now France’s Benjamin Pavard loses consciousness on the pitch

French defender Benjamin Pavard has admitted losing consciousness for ‘10 to 15 seconds’ after he was involved in a collision with Germany’s Robin Gosens in his side’s 1-0 victory in their opening match of UEFA Euro 2020 in Munich on Tuesday (June 15). The Bayern Munich defender received treatment for several minutes after the incident in the second half but was allowed to continue. Pavard remained on the pitch for the whole match as Didier Deschamps’s side held on to record a win in Group F.

“I took a hell of a shock,” he told French broadcasters BeIN Sports. “I was a little knocked out for 10 to 15 seconds. After that, it was better.”

The decision not to withdraw Pavard was heavily criticised on social media, with many calling for him to be substituted immediately because of fears over concussion.

Earlier this week, all 24 teams at Euro 2020 signed a ‘concussion charter’ that commits them to taking a series of measures to improve the care of players and includes neurological baseline testing and access to in-match television replays for team doctors.

Eriksen feeling ‘fine under the circumstances’

Denmark’s Christian Eriksen said he was feeling ‘fine – under the circumstances’ and expressed gratitude for the flood of messages he had received after he suffered a cardiac arrest during their Euro 2020 opener on Saturday. His first public comment since the collapse on the pitch came as his teammates were preparing for Denmark’s second Group B game against Belgium on Thursday.

“Big thanks for your sweet and amazing greetings and messages from all around the world. It means a lot to me and my family,” Eriksen said in a post on the national team’s Instagram profile. “I’m fine – under the circumstances.”

The post was accompanied by a picture of the 29-year-old lying in a hospital bed, smiling and giving a thumbs-up. “But I feel okay. Now, I will cheer on the boys on the Denmark team in the next matches, Play for all of Denmark,” he added.

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said it would be ‘very emotional’ for the players to return to the stadium where they witnessed their team mate collapse. “I have said – very apropos – that Christian is the heart of our team. He is the pulse, the rhythm of our game,” Hjulmand told reporters on Tuesday.

“No one can replace Christian ... But together we will do something together, something different,” Hjulmand added.

Eriksen collapsed just before halftime in the match against Finland and was taken to hospital after receiving CPR on the pitch.