Christian Eriksen ‘conscious and doing well’ after collapsing on pitch – Denmark team doctor
Christian Eriksen is conscious and “doing well under the circumstances” after collapsing on the pitch during Denmark’s friendly match against Ukraine on Sunday, the Danish Football Association (DBU) has said.
The fixture was abandoned after the 34-year-old midfielder, who plays for German side Wolfsburg, collapsed to the ground in the 65th minute of the match at the Odense Isstadion after appearing to hold his chest.
Medical staff from both teams attended to him within seconds and he was given treatment on the pitch. He then walked to a waiting ambulance which took him to hospital for tests.
Eriksen was fitted with a heart starter — also known as an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), is a small device that regulates abnormal heart rhythms — after suffering a cardiac arrest during a Euro 2020 match for Denmark against Finland.
In this latest incident, Denmark were leading the game 2-1 when Eriksen — who had started the game — collapsed.
Fans in Odense — close to Eriksen’s home town of Middelfart — were initially shocked into silence before they began chanting Eriksen’s name as he was attended to by medics.
After he had left the field, the game was officially called off and both sets of players gathered in a circle on the pitch where they were addressed by Denmark head coach Brian Riemer, who also worked with Eriksen at Premier League club Brentford.
The game was being played in Odense as a tribute to Eriksen, who recently made his 150th appearance for Denmark.
A statement from the Danish Football Association said that Eriksen was “conscious and doing well under the circumstances”.
Denmark’s team doctor Morton Boesen later told reporters: “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.”
What happened in 2021?
Eriksen collapsed on the pitch for Denmark during the European Championship in June 2021, during his side’s opening match of the tournament against Finland.
The midfielder stumbled forward and fell to the floor as his team-mate Thomas Delaney took a throw-in.
He received emergency treatment on the pitch for 13 minutes. He was resuscitated and defibrillated, when it was determined he had suffered cardiac arrest.
That match also underwent a lengthy delay before being later restarted, as Finland won 1-0.
Medical specialists subsequently took the decision to fit a heart starter to Eriksen after undergoing different heart examinations, which allowed him to continue playing sport after a period of recovery.
How long was his recovery?
At the time of the incident, he played his club football in Italy with Inter.
However, due to Serie A’s medical rules about implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), he was unable to continue playing for the Milan-based club.
He briefly returned home to train with Danish club Odense Boldklub — who he played for between 2005 and 2008 — and then back at Ajax, another of his former clubs.
In January 2022, seven months after his collapse, Eriksen signed for Brentford.
After a successful half-season spell at the London club, he joined Manchester United as a free agent, before joining Wolfsburg last summer.
The midfielder has been a regular for club(s) and country since his return in January 2022, making 152 appearances across his three clubs in four-and-a-half seasons, and playing a further 40 times for the Danish national team.
