Five years after Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during the European Championship, the midfielder was taken to hospital after collapsing during Denmark’s international friendly against Ukraine
on Sunday.
Eriksen is conscious and doing well.
“Christian Eriksen is conscious and doing well under the circumstances,” The Danish Football Association said in a brief statement on social medias.
The 34-year-old has played with an implanted heart device since collapsing during Denmark’s Euro 2020 group-stage match against Finland, a tournament that was held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The medical emergency sidelined him from professional football for over six months.
Eriksen went down in the 64th minute of Sunday’s match with Denmark leading 2-1.
“There was a throw-in and walked calmly to the touchline. Then I turned around and I saw Christian collapse,” Denmark captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg told Danish broadcaster TV2. “We know very well what that means and the reaction was extremely rapid and respectful.”
Medical personnel immediately entered the field to attend to Eriksen, while teammates formed a protective circle around him to block the view of television and mobile phone cameras.
The match was abandoned approximately 15 minutes later.
“It’s an extremely shocking experience for everyone, the staff, the players and the opponents,” Denmark head coach Brian Riemer said.
Riemer previously worked with Eriksen during their time together at Brentford.
“He’s someone who counts a lot for me. You’re closer to certain players than others and he was one of the ones I got close to at Brentford.”
Eriksen was transported to a hospital in Odense for further assessment.
Former Denmark striker Niklas Bendtner said the images from the incident overshadowed the result of the match.
“The main thing is that he was able to walk off by himself, because that makes you think he’s doing ok given the circumstances,” Bendtner told TV2. “But these are terrible images that outweigh the rest of the evening… It’s the second time it’s happened and as a friend of Christian’s… it’s really awful.”
Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen later reported that Eriksen was recovering well.
“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,” Boesen said.
“But Christian is doing well and he asked me to send his regards to all the players and tell them that he was ok.”
Boesen added that he had spoken with Eriksen’s cardiologist, who would review information recorded by the player’s heart device.
The incident inevitably brought back memories of Eriksen’s collapse during Denmark’s European Championship match against Finland in 2021. On that occasion, he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field before being resuscitated by medical staff.
That match eventually resumed later the same day, with Finland claiming a 1-0 victory. UEFA’s decision to give Denmark the option of either restarting immediately or returning the next day drew widespread criticism.
Former Denmark goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, whose son Kasper played in the match, described the situation as “absolutely ridiculous” and accused European football’s governing body of lacking “compassion.”
Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand later reflected on the decision, saying: “We should not have played.”
Despite losing to both Finland and Belgium in the group stage, Denmark recovered impressively to reach the semi-finals, where they were eliminated by England.
Eriksen resumed his professional career seven months after his cardiac arrest, joining Brentford in the Premier League. His departure from Inter Milan had been necessitated by Italian regulations prohibiting players with pacemakers from competing in the country’s top division.
He later signed for Manchester United, winning both the FA Cup and the League Cup before moving to Wolfsburg, where he remains under contract.
The midfielder also returned to international football, representing Denmark at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and Euro 2024 in Germany. Denmark will not be among the teams competing at the World Cup in North America, which begins next week.
With AFP Inputs
