Midfielder Christian Eriksen has been hospitalized for a medical check-up after suddenly collapsing during a friendly match between Denmark and Ukraine on the evening of June 7 (local time) in Odense.
The incident occurred in the 65th minute of the match when Eriksen suddenly clutched his chest and fell to the pitch. Medical staff immediately rushed onto the field to provide first aid, while players from both teams formed a protective circle to prevent sensitive images from being recorded.
In light of this serious situation, the match was abandoned despite Denmark leading Ukraine 2-1 thanks to goals from Patrick Dorgu and Joakim Maehle.
The Danish Football Association later confirmed that Eriksen was conscious and in stable condition. Danish national team doctor Morten Boesen stated: “Christian is doing fine right now. He walked off the pitch himself and quickly regained consciousness. According to our initial assessment, his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) functioned correctly.”
Boesen also mentioned that Eriksen will undergo further in-depth tests at the hospital to determine the cause of this latest incident.
“We remain in regular contact with Christian as well as the treating medical team. He asked me to pass on a message to his teammates that he is okay,” the Denmark team doctor added.
Denmark head coach Brian Riemer said he initially thought Eriksen had only suffered a routine collision before realizing the situation was much more serious.
“I saw the incident with my naked eye and thought Christian had just been fouled. But then I realized this was a completely different issue. The players immediately formed a protective circle around him,” Riemer shared.
The event reminded many of the terrifying incident at EURO 2020 (held in 2021), when Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during the match between Denmark and Finland. At that time, the midfielder’s heart stopped beating for about five minutes before he was resuscitated by medical staff using CPR.
After that incident, the former Tottenham and Manchester United player was fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to detect and treat dangerous arrhythmias. According to Dr. Boesen, it was this very device that activated during the latest scare.
Currently, Eriksen remains under observation at the hospital, awaiting the results of in-depth examinations. The good news is that the 34-year-old midfielder is conscious, can communicate normally, and is not in critical condition.
