Collapse on the pitch: serious concerns about Eriksen once again

Eriksen

Five years after his dramatic collapse at Euro 2021, Danish international Christian Eriksen has collapsed on the pitch once again.

The incident occurred during Sunday's international match against Ukraine in Odense, which was subsequently abandoned. According to Denmark's football association, the 34-year-old is conscious and is doing well under the circumstances.

"As far as I can tell, the pacemaker is working as it should. He lost consciousness briefly but regained it very quickly, and we were able to make contact with him straight away," said team doctor Morten Boesen. "He now needs to undergo further tests in hospital to find out what caused the incident. We are in constant contact with him and the doctors at the hospital."

Eriksen had collapsed in the 65th minute, prompting the referee to suspend play 15 minutes later. After initial treatment on the pitch, he was able to walk unaided to the waiting ambulance. Denmark were 2-1 ahead at the time of the stoppage; Eriksen had started the match and been shown a yellow card during the first half.

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Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest almost exactly five years ago today.

TV footage showed Eriksen clutching his chest with both hands and collapsing onto the pitch. Medical staff immediately ran onto the field, and his teammates formed a screen to shield him as he was treated. Once Eriksen had been carried off, the Danish and Ukrainian players linked arms in a show of solidarity.

Eriksen, who had only just been relegated from the Bundesliga with VfL Wolfsburg, had suffered a cardiac arrest almost exactly five years earlier, on 12 June 2021, during the European Championship group match against Finland in Copenhagen, and was resuscitated. "I was dead for five minutes," Eriksen later told reporters.

Doctors subsequently fitted him with a defibrillator and gave him the all-clear to resume his career, though Italian regulations prevented him from playing in Serie A with Inter Milan.

After spells at Brentford and Manchester United, he moved to Wolfsburg in September 2025, signing a contract until 2027.