Denmark doctor says Eriksen is stable and calm
Christian Eriksen is recovering well after collapsing during Denmark’s match against Ukraine and is expected to leave hospital soon, according to national team doctor Morten Boesen.
The match in Odense was halted in the 65th minute after the 34 year old went down on the pitch. It was later abandoned, although Eriksen was conscious again and able to walk off the field.
Boesen said he had spoken with the Wolfsburg midfielder in the morning and that Eriksen was doing well.
“I spoke with Christian this morning, and he is doing well. He is with his family and in good spirits,” Boesen said.
“The expectation is that he will be discharged soon and can return home.”
ICD reacted as expected during the incident
Eriksen has been playing with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, known as an ICD, since suffering a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s Euro 2020 match against Finland in 2021.
The device, which is a type of pacemaker, allowed him to continue his career. He joined Brentford in 2022, eight months after his collapse at the Euros, before spending three years with Manchester United.
Boesen said on Sunday that Eriksen’s pacemaker had worked as it should during the latest incident.
Before returning to football in 2022, Eriksen told BBC Sport that he had no concerns about playing with an ICD.
“I don’t see any risk, no. I have an ICD, if anything would happen then I am safe,” he said.
Neither Denmark nor Ukraine managed to qualify for the World Cup, which starts on Thursday.
Why Eriksen could not stay in Serie A
After his cardiac arrest at Euro 2020, Eriksen left Inter Milan by mutual consent because Serie A rules do not allow players with an ICD to compete.
The Premier League and Bundesliga do not follow the same regulation, which made it possible for Eriksen to continue playing in England and Germany.
An ICD is roughly half the size of a mobile phone and has thin wires leading toward the heart area.
There are two main types of ICD. One is placed under the skin, usually near the armpit, and works like a small defibrillator.
Aneil Malhotra, professor in sports cardiology at Manchester Metropolitan University, explained to BBC Radio 5 Live that the device monitors the heart around the clock.
“It works 24 hours a day and is constantly monitoring the heart rhythm,” Malhotra said.
“If the heart develops a dangerous rhythm that could lead to a sudden cardiac arrest, then the device can rapidly detect it and deliver treatment.
“That includes a shock, if necessary, to restore a normal rhythm. It takes out the human factor, as we saw at the Euros, where CPR had to be delivered externally.
“An ICD is already in the patient and saves crucial time.”
The other main version is usually placed just below the collarbone. Like a pacemaker, it can also send a regular electrical signal if the heart rate becomes too slow.
Other footballers have faced similar scares
Eriksen’s first collapse came nine years after Fabrice Muamba’s near fatal incident at Tottenham and 19 years after Marc Vivien Foe died while playing in Lyon.
Luton Town’s Premier League match at Bournemouth was also abandoned in 2023 after their captain Tom Lockyer collapsed on the pitch.
Muamba, a former Bolton midfielder, retired at the age of 24 after doctors advised him to stop playing. Others have continued their careers with an ICD.
Former Manchester United midfielder Daley Blind returned to play for Ajax and the Netherlands after being diagnosed with a heart condition in 2019.
Lockyer also made his way back into football with Bristol Rovers two years after suffering his cardiac arrest.
