Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during an international friendly against Ukraine on Sunday, but was conscious as he was taken off by medics. The match was abandoned after the incident.
The former Manchester United and Tottenham player, who suffered a cardiac arrest during a European Championship match in 2021, received immediate medical attention in Odense. Players from both sides formed a protective ring around him while he was treated, and he eventually walked to an ambulance.
Denmark's football federation confirmed that Eriksen was conscious and "doing well under the circumstances." National team doctor Morten Boesen, who led the successful resuscitation effort in 2021, said the player was "briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly ... and walked off the pitch by himself."
After the 2021 incident, Eriksen was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in his chest, which can reset the heart after a cardiac arrest. Boesen said the device responded as it should, and Eriksen will undergo further examinations to determine the cause of the collapse.
Denmark captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg praised the quick reaction of those who attended to Eriksen, adding that the most important thing is that he is doing well. Eriksen, who has resumed his playing career at club and international level, previously recounted that he remembered everything apart from the five minutes he was unconscious.
