Fiorentina’s Antonin Barak reveals his health problems: “I could’ve ended up like Christian Eriksen”

Fiorentina midfielder Antonin Barak revealed the severe health problems he had suffered during the summer. 

Speaking to an interview with Flashscore via TMW, Antonin Barak spoke at length about the bilateral pneumonia he had suffered during the summer recess. The 28-year-old’s condition wasn’t aired much in the press and this is the first time he talked about it.

He said: “It started quite innocently and ended with bilateral pneumonia. I had an effusion in my lungs, which then reached the pericardium and I was admitted to hospital. At the time no one told me how serious it was, and what it could mean for my future career.”

The Fiorentina midfielder likened his condition to that of Christian Eriksen’s ventricle arrhythmia which the Dane suffered mid-match against Finland in the last Euros. He said: ” I only discovered later that I could end up like Christian Eriksen.”

The Viola Club announced that they had not made the issue public at that moment because of privacy reasons and also due to the problem not arising out of any sporting traumatic event. 

Barak had joined Fiorentina from Verona initially on a loan deal in the summer of 2022 but his move to the Franchi was made permanent in the January of 2023. 

Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN