Nabil Bentaleb reveals he spoke with Christian Eriksen following cardiac arrest | OneFootball

Nabil Bentaleb (30) was given the green light to return to playing football earlier this week, eight months after suffering a cardiac arrest during a five-a-side game. The Lille OSC midfielder has revealed how former Tottenham Hotspur teammate Christian Eriksen (33) has helped him over the past months.

Eriksen played with Bentaleb at White Hart Lane between 2013 and 2016, sharing the pitch on 53 occasions. The former suffered a cardiac arrest during a Euro 2021 game between Denmark and Finland. He made his competitive return less than one year later, signing for Brentford before later joining Manchester United.

Bentaleb is now following in the Denmark international’s footsteps and is hoping to return to the field soon. After receiving the green light from doctors, he returned to first-team training with LOSC on Thursday. No time frame has been put on his return, however, he is now eager to return to playing, as he said during a press conference on Friday.

“There are highs and lows, also mentally. I discovered another side to myself, another type of mental strength. Of course, there were doubts […] I have worked a lot these last eight months. I know the forest by heart now! I haven’t slept in eight months, I have worked,” he said, before revealing the contact with Eriksen.

“I managed to speak to Christian, who helped me massively. Everything was vague and he helped me and warned me what would happen too,” said the Algerian.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle