Christian Eriksen conscious after on-pitch collapse; Denmark vs. Ukraine abandonedMark Ogden
Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during a friendly on Sunday. Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesChristian Eriksen is “conscious and doing well under the circumstances” after collapsing during Denmark’s friendly against Ukraine, forcing the game to be abandoned.
Eriksen, 34, appeared to grab his chest before falling to the ground in the 65th minute of the international fixture in the Danish city of Odense, with Norwegian referee Sigurd Smehus Kringstad calling the game off in the 79th minute due to the incident involving the VfL Wolfsburg midfielder.
“He was briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly,” national team doctor Morten Boesen mentioned in a Danish federation statement.
The former Manchester United and Tottenham player previously suffered a cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the pitch during Denmark’s Euro 2020 encounter with Finland in Copenhagen in June 2021.
Eriksen was subsequently fitted with a special heart-starting device known as an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator and after being released by Internazionale was able to relaunch his playing career with Premier League team Brentford in February 2022, just eight months collapsing against Finland.
Denmark and Ukraine players surrounded Eriksen after he fell to the ground in Odense and the Danish Football Association (DBU) has since issued an report on the player’s condition, saying that “Eriksen is conscious and doing well under the circumstances.”
National team doctor Boesen added: “Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself. As I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should.
“He was briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly, and we were quickly in contact with him.
“He will now undergo further examinations at the hospital to determine what caused the incident. We are in ongoing contact with him and the doctors at the hospital.
“But Christian is doing well, and he asked me to send his regards to all the players and tell them that he was okay.”
Neither Denmark nor Ukraine have qualified for the World Cup.
After collapsing against Finland in 2021, Eriksen’s teammates stood around him in a wall, shielding him to protect his privacy.
After receiving medical attention for around 10 minutes, he was carried off on a stretcher.
The match was halted and UEFA mentioned both teams held an emergency meeting before deciding to continue the game. Finland went on to win 1-0 and Eriksen was named man of the match.
The midfielder is widely considered one of the greatest players in Danish football history. He began his senior career at Ajax before joining Tottenham, where he made 305 appearances, scoring 69 goals and providing 88 assists.
He joined Inter in 2020, and was without a club for eight months following his first collapse.
After a spell at Brentford, he spent three seasons at United before joining his current club, Wolfsburg.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
