After collapsing on a football pitch for the second time, former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen has offered an update into his condition
Christian Eriksen has said he is "doing well" after collapsing during Denmark's recent friendly against Ukraine. In June 2021, Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated after he collapsed during Denmark's Euro 2020 clash against Finland.
Five years later, he collapsed on the pitch at Nature Energy Park in Odense, Denmark, prompting team-mates and opposition players to form a circle around him as he received treatment. At first, many feared the horrific situation that unfolded at the European Championships was repeating itself.
However, on this occasion, Eriksen was able to walk off the pitch himself. A matter of days after the incident, he has taken to social media to offer an update on his health.
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He said: "I want to let everyone know that I am doing well and that I am home with my family. As you can probably imagine, receiving a shock from my ICD has had a major impact on both me and my family.
"But, I want to reassure everyone that this was a different situation from what happened in 2021. I am feeling good, and my recovery has already started.
"I addition to being grateful for the support and assistance of all the players and the medical team on the field, I am also incredibly grateful to the doctors who have cared for me and my heart over the years.
"Thanks to their expertise, my ICD did exactly what it was designed to do: protect me when I needed it. For now, my focus is on recovering, spending time with my family, going on vacation, and playing football with my children."
When the incident happened, Denmark head coach Brian Riemer was the one to confirm the situation was not as serious as it was five years ago. He said: "Christian Eriksen waved to his teammates as he left the pitch.
"A few minutes before he fell ill, he had had a tussle with Ruslan Malinovskyi and I thought that was why he looked so distressed, but I was wrong. From that moment on, neither I nor the players on the pitch could have carried on with the match.”
When Eriksen had his cardiac arrest during the European Championships, he was an Inter Milan player. However, Serie A's strict rules on players competing with an ICD prevented him from staying there.
He went on to star at Brentford, before securing a move to Manchester United, where he spent three years. In the summer of 2025, left Old Trafford to join Wolfsburg, where he is contracted until the summer of 2027.