Former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen is “conscious and doing well” after collapsing during Denmark’s international friendly against Ukraine.
Eriksen fell to the turf with just over an hour on the clock, leading to the match being called off. It evoked harrowing memories of a similar incident involving the same player at Euro 2020.
On that occasion, against Finland, Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest and his life was saved by emergency medical care and the rapid response of teammate Simon Kjær. The player was fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator and was able to continue his career, first joining Brentford, then Manchester United. This past season, the 34-year-old played 34 times for Wolfsburg.
After the Denmark-Ukraine match was abandoned on Sunday, Denmark’s soccer federation (DBU) quickly allayed fears by confirming that Eriksen was awake.
Christian Eriksen er ved bevidsthed og har det efter omstændighederne godt.
— Fodboldlandsholdene 🇩🇰 (@dbulandshold) June 7, 2026
Kampen er afblæst. pic.twitter.com/NCCx92nm6v
Morten Boesen, the Danish team doctor credited with saving Eriksen’s life five years ago, confirmed the player had been able to walk off the field “by himself” and that the pacemaker “responded as it should.” It meant he was only “briefly unconscious.”
Again, the medical response from the Danish staff was rapid.
Eriksen has travelled to hospital for tests to understand what caused him to collapse.
