Christian Eriksen ‘conscious and doing well’ after collapsing on pitch – Denmark team doctor

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Christian Eriksen ‘conscious and doing well’ after collapsing on pitch – Denmark team doctor

The game against Ukraine was abandoned in the 65th minute Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images

By Colin Millar

June 8, 2026 Updated 3:30 am GMT+7

Christian Eriksen is conscious and “doing well under the circumstances” after collapsing on the pitch during Denmark’s friendly match against Ukraine on Sunday, the Danish Football Association (DBU) has said.

The fixture was abandoned after the 34-year-old midfielder, who plays for German side Wolfsburg, collapsed to the ground in the 65th minute of the match at the Odense Isstadion after appearing to hold his chest.

Medical staff from both teams attended to him within seconds and he was given treatment on the pitch. He then walked to a waiting ambulance which took him to hospital for tests.

Denmark players were visibly upset after the incident Bo Amstrup/AFP via Getty Images

Eriksen was fitted with a heart starter — also known as an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a small device that regulates abnormal heart rhythms — after suffering a cardiac arrest during a European Championship match for Denmark against Finland in 2021.

In this latest incident, Denmark were leading 2-1 when Eriksen — who had started the game — collapsed.

A statement from the DBU said that Eriksen was “conscious and doing well under the circumstances”.

Denmark’s team doctor Morten Boesen later told reporters: “Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself.

“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.

“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.

“But Christian is doing well, and he asked me to send his regards to all the players and tell them that he was OK.”

Denmark captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, a former team=mate of Eriksen’s at Tottenham, told Danish television network TV2: “There was a throw-in, and I walked to the side. Then I turned around and I saw that Christian was on the way to the floor. We know what that means, and the reaction was super quick and respectful. I can only praise those who took care of it.

“We went to the locker room and had a little chat there. Some have some questions, and others need to talk to family. Some need to sit and listen a little. It’s actually OK. It’s strange to say that it brings back memories.

“The most important thing is that there was a good response and that it is under control from the doctors. And that the players showed respect, and that the spectators showed great respect. We are all deeply grateful for that, and that is what is most important.

“I think I need to see my children and my family. Those are the ones I want to see.”

Wolfsburg tweeted their support for Eriksen and said they were in contact with the DBU over his condition.

Manchester United also sent their best wishes to their former player in their own post on X.

‘A shocking and upsetting experience’

Fans in Odense — close to Eriksen’s home town of Middelfart — were initially shocked into silence before they began chanting Eriksen’s name as he was attended to by medics.

After he had left the field, the game was officially called off and both sets of players gathered in a circle on the pitch where they were addressed by Denmark head coach Brian Riemer, who also worked with Eriksen at Premier League club Brentford.

Players formed a barrier around Eriksen as he received medical attention Bo Amstrup / Ritzau Scanpix /AFP via Getty Images

“The most important thing is that Christian is doing well and he is,” Riemer told reporters afterwards. “Now it’s about us standing together, as you could see that we did in the most dignified way on the field, and of course ensuring that everyone has a shoulder to lean on from here.”

Riemer also said he would be visiting Eriksen in hospital straight after completing his duties at the stadium.

“There are some players you get closer to than others, and he was one of the ones I got close to in terms of him coming with the experience he did,” Riemer said, in comments reported by TV2. “And since then we have also worked together on the national team, so he is someone I have a close relationship with and who I know very well. So it was of course something that sits very deeply in me.”

The game was being played in Odense as a tribute to Eriksen, who recently made his 150th appearance for Denmark.

Andrew Todos is a football journalist who covers Ukrainian football and was at the match in Odense when Eriksen collapsed. “It was shocking and upsetting experience for everybody in the ground, including the players,” he told The Athletic . “It happened very suddenly, when Eriksen was on his own.

“A number of Danish players were in tears. A few Ukrainian players were clearly distraught, too. But everyone made sure that he could get medical treatment as quickly as possible, and then the fans on more than one occasion were chanting ‘Eriksen! Eriksen!’, before he made it onto the ambulance on his own accord.”

What happened in 2021?

Eriksen collapsed on the pitch for Denmark during the European Championship in June 2021, during his side’s opening match of the tournament against Finland.

The midfielder stumbled forward and fell to the floor as his team-mate Thomas Delaney took a throw-in.

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He received emergency treatment on the pitch for 13 minutes. He was resuscitated and defibrillated, when it was determined he had suffered cardiac arrest.

That match also underwent a lengthy delay before being later restarted, as Finland won 1-0.

Medical specialists subsequently took the decision to fit a heart starter to Eriksen after undergoing different heart examinations, which allowed him to continue playing sport after a period of recovery.

How long was his recovery?

At the time of the incident, he played his club football in Italy with Inter.

However, due to Serie A’s medical rules about implantable cardioverter defibrillators, he was unable to continue playing for the Milan-based club.

He briefly returned home to train with Danish club Odense Boldklub — who he played for between 2005 and 2008 — and then back at Ajax, another of his former clubs.

In January 2022, seven months after his collapse, Eriksen signed for Brentford.

Eriksen resumed his career with Brentford in January 2022 Eddie Keogh/Getty Images

After a successful half-season spell at the London club, he joined Manchester United as a free agent, before joining Wolfsburg last summer.

The midfielder has been a regular for his clubs and country since his return in January 2022, making over 150 appearances across his three clubs in four-and-a-half seasons, and playing a further 40 times for the Danish national team.

What did he say about resuming his career?

Eriksen previously said he did not think about returning to football in the few days that followed the incident in 2021 but added he never feared his career would be over.

“I don’t see any risk, no. I have an ICD, if anything would happen then I am safe,” Eriksen told BBC Sport in February 2022, after joining Brentford.

“I won’t change my style of play. I have had the time to be disciplined for the last six months to do extras, so even now maybe I am in a better condition than before, just the football missing.

“I feel like me so don’t see a reason why I can’t get back to the same level.”

Was Eriksen due to be at World Cup?

No, Denmark did not qualify for this summer’s World Cup finals.

They finished second in their qualification group to Scotland, dramatically losing in Glasgow in the final group game when a draw would have sealed their automatic qualification.

The nation then went into the European play-offs, where they defeated North Macedonia 4-0 at the semi-final stage before losing to Czech Republic on penalties following a 2-2 draw.

Denmark have played in six World Cup finals, including in each of the two previous editions, in 2018 and 2022.

Their best appearance at the tournament was a quarter-final showing in 1998.

Following friendlies against DR Congo and Ukraine this month, Denmark are next due to play against Norway on September 24 in their UEFA Nations League campaign.

Colin Millar is a Senior Editor for The Athletic. Prior to joining The Athletic, Colin was European Football writer at Mirror Football. From Belfast, he is the author of The Frying Pan of Spain: Sevilla vs Real Betis, Spain’s Hottest Football Rivalry, and he can be found on Twitter/X: @Millar_Colin

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