Association gives the first all-clear
©IMAGO
Wolfsburg midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed again on the field during a Danish national team game five years after his cardiac arrest during the 2020/21 European Championship. The game against Ukraine on Sunday did not start again when the score was 2-1 for the Northern Europeans.
The Danish Football Association then gave the first all-clear. Eriksen was conscious and doing well under the circumstances, the DBU announced in the evening. “Christian is doing well and he left the pitch under his own power,” team doctor Morten Boesen was quoted as saying by the association in the evening. “As far as I can tell, the pacemaker is working as it should. He was only unconscious for a short time, but he came to very quickly and we were able to get in touch with him quickly.”
Eriksen will now be taken to hospital and further examined to find out what caused the incident, the doctor said. “We are in constant contact with him and the doctors at the hospital. Christian is doing well and he has asked me to let all the players know that he is doing well and that everything is fine.”
Teammates immediately called the Danish team doctors and formed a screen around their captain. The spectators in Odense loudly shouted “Eriksen, Eriksen”. However, after initial treatment, the Wolfsburg professional was able to get up again and, to the applause of the spectators and players, walked on his own two feet to an ambulance that was driven onto the stadium grounds.
During the 2020 European Championships held in 2021, Eriksen collapsed during Denmark’s first game against Finland in Copenhagen. The midfielder still had to be resuscitated on the pitch. Since a defibrillator (ICD) was subsequently inserted into his heart, he was initially unable to continue his career with his club Inter Milan. In Italy, professional sports with defibrillators are not allowed. In 2022, Eriksen instead continued his career in England and moved to VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on a free transfer last year, where he was relegated to the 2nd division at the end of the season. The Danish selection is not qualified for the upcoming World Cup.