Christian Eriksen was discharged from hospital less than 24 hours after collapsing during Denmark’s friendly against Ukraine at Odense Stadium on Sunday. The 34-year-old, who suffered a cardiac arrest at the European Championship in 2021, held his chest in the 65th minute and fell to the ground, briefly losing consciousness. The match was halted and swiftly abandoned as Eriksen was taken away in an ambulance.
On Monday, the former Tottenham and Manchester United player, who is fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), posted a statement on Instagram from home with his family. “I want to let everyone know that I am doing well and that I am home with my family,” he wrote. “As you can probably imagine, receiving a shock from my ICD has had a major impact on both me and my family, but I want to reassure everyone that this was a different situation from what happened in 2021.
“Christian Eriksen is recovering at home after collapsing on pitch in Denmark friendly, says ICD protected him.”
“I am feeling good, and my recovery has already started. In addition to being grateful for the support and assistance of all the players and the medical team on the field, I am also incredibly grateful to the doctors who have cared for me and my heart over the years. Thanks to their expertise, my ICD did exactly what it was designed to do: protect me when I needed it. For now, my focus is on recovering, spending time with my family, going on vacation, and playing football with my children.”
Eriksen had required cardiopulmonary resuscitation at Parken Stadium after his collapse during Euro 2020 and had a pacemaker fitted days later. At the time he was contracted to Inter, but Serie A rules prohibit playing with a pacemaker, prompting him to resume his career at Brentford in 2022. After a three-year spell at Manchester United, he joined Wolfsburg last summer.