Christian Eriksen close to being discharged after collapse, says team doctor

Christian Eriksen is expected to be soon discharged from hospital after he collapsed during Denmark’s friendly with Ukraine on Sunday.

Television images showed Eriksen holding his chest in the 65th minute of the fixture at Odense Stadium, with the match quickly halted and abandoned shortly afterwards amid concern for the former Tottenham and Manchester United playmaker.

Eriksen was fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator device to ensure he could resume his playing career after suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 during a 1-0 loss to Finland. The 34-year-old sparked more fears on Sunday but the Danish Football Union said he was “conscious and doing well” on Sunday, while the national team doctor provided another positive update on Monday.

“I spoke with Christian this morning, and he is doing well. He is with his family and in good spirits,” said Morten Boesen in a statement via DBU. “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 with them.”

With Denmark leading 2-1 at Nature Energy Park, Eriksen experienced discomfort and was briefly unconscious. Boesen, who was also involved with the national team when Eriksen collapsed five years ago, confirmed the midfielder was at hospital to have more tests.

Christian Eriksen during the friendly against Ukraine before his collapse. Photograph: Bo Amstrup/EPA

The Denmark head coach, Brian Riemer, revealed Eriksen responded to his teammates after the incident. “Christian Eriksen waved to his teammates as he left the pitch,” he said. “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.”

Eriksen required cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at Parken Stadium following the collapse during Euro 2020 and he had a pacemaker fitted days later.

Eriksen was contracted to Inter at the time but Serie A rules prohibit playing with a pacemaker and the midfielder resumed his career at Brentford in 2022 before he enjoyed a three-year spell at Manchester United. He joined Wolfsburg last summer.