Christian Eriksen update: Denmark team doctor offers fresh details after second collapse

Christian Eriksen is “doing well” and “in good spirits” after collapsing for the second time in his career during Sunday’s international friendly between Denmark and Ukraine, according to Danish team doctor Morten Boesen.

Midway through the second half of the game in Copenhagen, Eriksen clutched his chest in pain and slumped to the ground. The former Manchester United midfielder was quickly attended to by medical teams on the field and taken off 12 minutes later, with the match subsequently called off.

The incident occurred five years after the Dane suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s Euro 2020 group-stage game against Finland, played in June 2021.

On that occasion, Eriksen was reported to have been clinically dead for five minutes. Thankfully, however, he was resuscitated on the field and rushed to the hospital.

Four days later, Eriksen was fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, a device used for patients deemed to be at risk of sudden cardiac death.

Eriksen “briefly unconscious”

“Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself,” Boesen explained on Sunday. “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.”

Denmark doctor provides fresh update

The Denmark doctor then offered a second update on Monday, revealing Eriksen was “in good spirits” and is expected to be released before too much longer.

“I spoke with Christian this morning and he is doing well,” Boesen said. “He is with his family and in good spirits.

“The expectation is that he will be discharged soon and can return home.

“We are taking good care of the players and staff and remain in regular contact.”

How Eriksen returned to soccer after cardiac arrest

At the time of his cardiac arrest, Eriksen was playing for Inter Milan in Italy, where players are not permitted to compete with defibrillation devices. As a result, his contract with the Serie A giants was terminated at the end of 2021.

However, no such rules are in place in England, and Premier League club Brentford signed Eriksen at the end of January 2022, by which time he had been cleared to resume his career by doctors.

Just six months later, he moved to Old Trafford, where he spent three seasons before joining Bundesliga club Wolfsburg, his current team.

No health issues had been reported since his return to professional soccer until Sunday’s friendly against Ukraine.

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