Denmark’s friendly with Ukraine was called Sunday, when Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field.
In the 65th minute, Eriksen, 34, reached for his chest area before falling to the ground. The game was called a short time after that.
Eriksen was able to reach an ambulance on his feet, but a statement from the Danish federation stated that he was “briefly unconscious.”
The incident is especially notable, as Eriksen has a history with heart-related incidents on the pitch. In 2021 playing domestically for Inter Milan, Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest while representing Denmark at the European Championship and ultimately had to have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator inserted into his body to allow for electronically restarting his heart.
National team doctor Morten Boesen credited the device with helping Eriksen regain consciousness on Sunday.
“As I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should,” Boesen said. “He was briefly unconscious but regained consciousness very quickly.
“He will now undergo further examinations at the hospital to determine what caused the incident. We are in ongoing contact with him and the doctors at the hospital.”
Eriksen spent a year away from the sport following the June 2021 incident, eventually resurfacing with Brentford. He has since played with Manchester United and VfL Wolfsburg.
He has six appearances with no goals for Denmark this year.
–Field Level Media
