Christian Eriksen, the 34-year-old Denmark midfielder, suddenly collapsed on the pitch during a friendly against Ukraine on Sunday evening. The Danish Football Association (DBU) confirmed that Eriksen was conscious and in a stable condition.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Eriksen fell to the ground, causing spectators to fall silent with concern. Players from both sides quickly formed a protective circle around him. Medical staff immediately entered the field to attend to him, and Eriksen later walked to the ambulance on his own.
Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen said: “Christian is absolutely fine and walked off the pitch by himself. In my opinion, the pacemaker is functioning correctly. He was only unconscious for a moment and quickly came around. We were able to contact him immediately.” Boesen added that Eriksen would undergo further tests at the hospital to determine the cause of the incident, and that the midfielder had sent word to the team: “I’m okay.”
This is the second time in five years that Eriksen has suffered an on-field incident. In 2021, he suffered cardiac arrest during a Euro match in Copenhagen and received emergency CPR. He was subsequently fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Eriksen played for Inter Milan in Italy before recovering and returning to professional football in 2022.
The friendly between Denmark and Ukraine was cancelled after the incident, with the score at 2-1 in Denmark’s favour. Neither team qualified for this year’s World Cup.
