Danish soccer star Christian Eriksen is expected to return home “soon” after collapsing on the field during a match and being rushed to the hospital.
“I spoke with Christian this morning, and he is doing well,” Denmark’s team doctor, Morten Boesen, said in a statement posted via social media on Monday, June 8. “He is with family and in good spirits. The expectation is that he will be discharged soon and can return home. We are taking good care of the players and staff and remain in regular contact with them.”
Eriksen, 34, collapsed during Denmark’s friendly against Ukraine on Sunday, June 7. He was seen grabbing his chest on defense before falling to the ground as both teams called for training staff to help him. Boesen later said the midfielder was “briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly.”
He was on the ground for about 10 minutes before getting up and walking to a waiting ambulance under his own power. Eriksen was taken to Odense University Hospital for testing while the rest of the match was canceled.
The incident sparked an outpouring of support from the Danish soccer community, including Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who shared a statement via Facebook on Sunday.
“Sending my warmest thoughts to Christian Eriksen tonight ❤️ 🩹,” she wrote, “and to all those around him who are affected. That’s a big scare. And a great relief that he is doing well according to the circumstances 🙏🏼.”
As scary as the moment was, it wasn’t the first such incident Eriksen has endured on the field. In 2021, he collapsed during a match against Finland and went into cardiac arrest. Teammate Simon Kjær is credited with saving his life by turning Eriksen onto his side and making sure his airway was open before paramedics arrived with a defibrillator.
“I’m not a hero,” Kjær, 37, said at the time. “I saved Eriksen by keeping my cool. It was a team effort, we would obviously have done the same if it had been an opponent. That’s all.”
He continued, “Instinct guided me, and I did what I had to, automatically. It was the first time this happened to me, I hope it’s the last, too. That’s all. The only thing that matters is that Christian is fine now. That’s the only important thing. I did it without thinking.”
Days later, doctors implanted a pacemaker in Eriksen, and it was likely activated when he collapsed on Sunday, according to a report from USA Today. What caused the incident still has not been determined.
Read the full article here
