Christian Eriksen has been discharged from hospital – but is refusing to be drawn on whether he will quit football after a second terrifying on-field collapse in the space of five years.
The former Manchester United and Tottenham star clutched his chest and fell to the floor during a Denmark friendly against Ukraine on Sunday – with his implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) providing a shock to restore his heart’s rhythm. The ICD was installed after his 2021 cardiac arrest which shocked fans worldwide.
But Eriksen, 34, says his latest collapse is ‘a different situation’. Denmark have not qualified for the World Cup and he will now focus on ‘recovery’ and spending time with his family before making any decisions on his career.
In a statement released this afternoon he said: ‘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. 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.
Players and staff shield Christian Eriksen after he collapsed again mid-match yesterday
Eriksen, pictured with wife Sabrina Kvist Jensen, has now been discharged from hospital
‘For now, my focus is on recovering, spending time with my family, going on vacation, and playing football with my children.’
But Thomas Gravesen, the former Real Madrid and Everton midfielder, says Eriksen must now retire for the good of his wife, Sabrina Kvist Jensen.
She was pitchside for both of her husband’s collapses.
‘This has nothing to do with a career anymore. This has to do with life. It’s Christian Eriksen’s life,’ Gravesen, now working as a pundit, told Viaplay.
‘I saw his wife storm onto the field once more. What kind of scenario is he putting her in? You have to think a little further than the tip of your own nose. Football is completely irrelevant when something like this happens.’
Gravesen has suggested that if Eriksen decides he wants to play on, the decision should be taken out of his hands and he should be forced to retire.
Cardiologist Henning Molgaard has warned that Eriksen may suffer similar health issues in the future but maintained the defibrillator saved his life.
The Denmark international had said he ‘was not at all, not in the slightest’ afraid of collapsing again. He added: ‘Worst case, if it happens again, this thing helps me right away.’
Molgaard told BT: ‘His pacemaker. It has undoubtedly done its job and saved his life.
‘It can definitely happen again. We can see this in many ordinary people who have a small, discreet heart condition who have cardiac arrest again, and then the pacemaker takes effect. So regardless of what is behind it in Christian Eriksen’s case, it can happen again.
‘When you get a shock from the pacemaker, it feels like being kicked by a horse. That’s why you can yell “off”, and often you also have some “oxygen debt” that you have to make up for before you regain consciousness. But it’s a good sign that he goes to the ambulance himself.
‘The spectacular thing is not that it happened. It happens to many people. The spectacular thing is that it happens on a football field.’
Molgaard, however, warns that teams are now unlikely to want to have Eriksen playing for them. ‘The vast majority of professional clubs won’t risk him falling again. Most will probably say “I think you should come up with something else,”‘ he said.
Danish national team doctor Morten Boesen – who was credited with saving Eriksen’s life in 2021 – gave new insight on the moments immediately after this new collapse.
‘He wanted to go himself and also say hello to his family. And the ambulance was down the corner. So he was allowed to do that,’ Boesen said. ‘He was completely monitored.’
Television footage shows Eriksen clutched his chest and fell to the ground away from the ball, midway through the second half of Denmark’s friendly against Ukraine.
Medical staff rushed to his aid as he was shielded from view.
Eriksen has a year left on a two-year contract at German club Wolfsburg, who were relegated from the top-tier Bundesliga last month.
A statement from the Danish FA following the incident read: ‘Christian Eriksen is conscious and doing well in the circumstances. The match has been called off.’
TV footage shows the former Manchester United star grab at his chest before collapsing
Eriksen is seen before Sunday’s match in which he collapsed, applauding the crowd
The big screen inside the stadium in Odense shared a similar message which said: ‘The match is over. Christian Eriksen is in good condition under the circumstances.’
Fans also started to sing the midfielder’s name and clapped as he received treatment.
Former Denmark star Nicklas Bendtner was covering the game as a pundit on Danish TV and he fought back the tears as he tried to work out what to say when the incident happened.
‘These are horrible pictures, and it completely overshadows the rest of the evening,’ he said.
‘My thoughts are with the family and the children, and it’s a difficult situation to be in right now.
‘This is the second time it has happened, and as Christian’s friend also… it’s really terrible.’
Several of Eriksen’s Denmark team-mates were understandably distressed and broke down in tears on the pitch.
