The Denmark national team doctor has confirmed Christian Eriksen ‘is doing well’ after he collapsed again during a friendly against Ukraine. Play halted after Eriksen appeared to clutch his chest and fall to the ground in the 64th minute of the game in Odense.
Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during a Denmark match at Euro 2020 five years ago, and his team-mates were in tears as medical staff treated him. The midfielder momentarily lost consciousness but was able to walk himself off the pitch after treatment.
He was then rushed to the hospital for more tests, while the game, which Denmark were leading 2-1 through first-half goals from Patrick Dorgu and Joakim Maelhe, was subsequently abandoned. And in an update, Morten Boesen, the Denmark national team doctor said: “Christian walked off the field on his own. As I see it, the pacemaker is working 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 tests at the hospital to determine what caused the incident. We are in close 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.”
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A statement from the Danish FA had earlier confirmed: “Christian Eriksen is conscious and doing well under the circumstances. The match has been called off.”
Denmark chief Brian Riemer also said: “The most important thing is that Christian is doing well. And he has. He has left the pitch and has sent a greeting to the players. But that’s why the experience is still scary.”
While former Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner fought back tears as he covered the distressing incident as a pundit for Danish TV channel TV2. He said: “These are horrible pictures, and it completely overshadows the rest of the evening.
“My thoughts are with the family and the children, and it’s a difficult situation to be in right now. This is the second time it has happened, and as Christian’s friend also… it’s really terrible.”
View 2 ImagesDenmark’s clash with Ukraine was cancelled after an incident involving Christian Eriksen
Eriksen’s health episode comes five years after he suffered a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 during a group stage match against Finland. On that occasion, his heart stopped for roughly five minutes, and he was given life-saving CPR treatment on the pitch.
He was later fitted with a special heart-starting device known as an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD). And recalling what happened to the BBC, he revealed back in 2022: “I can remember everything apart from the five minutes.
“Otherwise I remember everything – the throw-in, the ball hitting my knee and then I don’t know what happened after.
“Then I woke up with people around me and felt pressure on my chest, trying to get my breathing back and didn’t really understand what was going on. I had no idea what happened. Then it goes through my head: ‘Did something happen with my legs, did I break my back?’
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“Then, in the ambulance I heard someone ask how long was I out for and someone said: ‘Five minutes’ and that was the first time I had heard I was gone. I was gone from this world for five minutes until they got my heartbeat back. But I still didn’t believe it was me.”
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