DEVASTATING TO LEARN OF STRICKEN PAL

GOOD SIGN: A young England fan shows his support

I PLAYED with Christian Eriksen for three years at Spurs.

Thankfully I didn’t see Saturday’s incident as I’d been watching the Wales game.

Instead, I received a text message from someone trying to find out if Eriksen (right) was okay.

It was at that point that I checked social media and was devastated.

Then, as I say, thankful that I didn’t see those pictures as they sounded horrendous. Who wants to see a colleague, a friend, in a situation like that?

I just thank God the medics were on standby to save his life.

Also, his team-mates, whose actions prevented a terrifying incident turning into a tragedy.

I’m doing my coaching badges at the moment.

One of the modules last week was first aid and although I’m not a brilliant listener, I paid particular attention that day. What I learned is that although you’d hope never to have a heart problem, if you were to have one anywhere the best place is on a football field.

You’re able to get medical attention, there’s a defibrillator on hand, there’s an ambulance on standby.

If this was two hours later and he was in his hotel room – or two hours before and he was travelling to a game – it could have been a different story. With the defibrillator, for example, every minute you are without it in his situation your chances of survival reduce by seven per cent. That’s how crucial the minutes after he fell to the ground were. I’m sure he and his family couldn’t care less if he plays again. The most important thing right now is to keep him in our prayers.