Blues left-back Jonas Knudsen says he can’t thank his Danish team-mates enough for paying for a private jet to fly him home to Denmark to meet his newborn daughter following last Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Peru.
As reported on Sunday, the squad clubbed together to pay for the flight back to Denmark as a paternity gift to Knudsen, whose wife Trine had given birth to their first baby a number of weeks early on the preceding Tuesday. The defender, already in Russia, was surprised to learn that he had become a father from squad staff.
The three-times-capped 25-year-old, an unused sub against the Peruvians and in yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Australia, spent Sunday with his wife and new daughter before flying back and rejoining his team-mates at their training base in Anapa the following day.
"I'm great, because both my wife and my child are doing well, so it's really nice,” Knudsen told Bold.dk.
"Of course, it's also nice to see that people think what my team-mates have done is good. I'm really happy and proud of what they've given me and I cannot thank them enough.
"They have given me a gift for which I am extremely grateful, and it shows a little about what this group is made of and what kind of unity we have.”
Asked how it felt to be in Russia and learn that Trine had given birth, he added: "It was a big shock because it was not planned to [happen when I was in Russia]. It was a premature birth, so that was not what I had expected.”
He says it was only a fleeting visit: "I had a little less than 30 hours at home. I flew directly after the match on Saturday and flew back again Monday morning so I could participate in the training. It has been a little hectic, but they are fine, so it's great.”
Knudsen and Denmark are currently second in Group C ahead of their final game against France at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Tuesday.
The full-back and keeper Bartosz Bialkowski, who is in Russia with the Poland squad, who face Colombia in their second Group H game on Sunday (KO 7pm), will be given additional time away before joining up with the Blues for pre-season training.
The Town squad have been back at the club over the last couple of days for testing before the start of pre-season proper on Monday.
After six days' work at Playford Road they will spend a week at a warm weather training camp in Alicante, Spain.