Christian Eriksen breaks silence after collapsing on pitch for second time
Christian Eriksen has reassured fans that his recent collapse in the match between Denmark and Ukraine wasn't as serious as the cardiac arrest he suffered five years ago that almost cost him his life.
The 34-year-old sparked huge concern when he went down clutching his chest in the 65th minute of the recent international friendly, with players from both sides left visibly distraught following the incident.
Seeing any player go down in those circumstances would be frightening enough as it is but in Eriksen's case, it brought back memories of the horrific events of Euro 2020, where the former Tottenham Hotspur man's heart stopped for around five minutes on the pitch.
Many were speculating if the midfielder had even survived on that occasion after players surrounded his body and he was taken off on a stretcher but he was able to make a miraculous return to professional football after he was fitted with an ICD.
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The device constantly monitors your heart rhythm and delivers life-saving electrical pulses to stop cardiac arrest, and it was forced into action on Sunday, potentially saving Eriksen's life again as he was thankfully able to walk off the pitch.
The VFL Wolfsburg man has now issued an update on his health on social media, suggesting that his focus is on recovery while once again thanking the doctors who have cared for his heart over the past few years.
He wrote: “I want to let everyone know that I’m doing well and that I am at home with my family.
“As you can 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.
“For now, my focus is on recovering, spending time with my family, going on vacation and playing football with my children."
The national team doctor Morten Boesen was on hand back in 2021 to help resuscitate Eriksen and he was there once again on Sunday to assist Eriksen, although thankfully on this occasion it seems as if the ICD made things a lot easier.
He added: "Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself. As I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should.
"He was briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly, and we were quickly in contact with him.
"He will now undergo further examinations at the hospital to determine what caused the incident. We are in ongoing contact with him and the doctors at the hospital.
"But Christian is doing well, and he asked me to send his regards to all the players and tell them that he was okay."
James Moorhouse