Manager Brentford Says About Eriksen's Debut: Hard To Say When He Can Play

JAKARTA - Brentford manager Thomas Frank hopes new signing Christian Eriksen can feature in the coming weeks, but he cannot make a full assessment until he sees the midfielder in training.

The English Premier League club announced the signing of the Danish midfielder Monday, seven months after he suffered a heart attack at last year's European Championship.

Frank, whose side will play Everton in Saturday's FA Cup fourth round, said the 29-year-old would train with his new teammates for the first time next Monday.

"Christian has a strong physical foundation and has done all sorts of tests," Frank said Thursday.

"He's been running a lot, training a lot, so he's been doing quite a bit over the last few months so his physical foundation is fine, but the other thing is to get the pace right.

"It's difficult to say when he can appear. I will know more after Monday."

Eriksen was released by Inter Milan in December because Italian medical regulations do not allow players equipped with pacemakers to appear in Serie A.

Asked if it would be months before Eriksen made his debut for Brentford, Frank admitted: "I was expecting weeks, weeks, but I don't know. I can do a lot more when I see him train."

Frank called the arrival of former Tottenham star Eriksen as Brentford's potential "biggest signing" and said his return to the pitch would be an emotional moment.

"We crossed the line and that's fantastic," said the Danish manager, who is self-isolating after testing positive for the coronavirus.

"The story behind this, I think will be a great day when Christian steps out on the pitch," Frank said.

"You have seen him perform as one of the best in the Premier League and what happened to him in June was crazy and shocking for us. The day he returns it will be an emotional moment."