Denmark's Eriksen collapses again during international match

COPENHAGEN, June 7 : Danish soccer player Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch in a match against Ukraine on Sunday, but was conscious, the Danish Football Federation said in a social media post.

"Christian Eriksen is conscious and is doing well under the circumstances," the federation said in a statement on X, adding that the friendly had been called off.

Sunday's incident marked the second time the 34-year-old playmaker collapsed to the turf while representing his country.

In 2021 he collapsed during his side's opening European Championship group game against Finland in Copenhagen.

He received life-saving CPR treatment and was later fitted with a special heart-starting device known as an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD), and he managed to resume his career at both club and international level.

There was a dreadful sense of deja vu for Danish football on Sunday as TV pictures showed Eriksen clutching his chest before collapsing 20 minutes into the second half, and a pall of shock descended over the stadium as fans realised which player had gone down.

"There's a throw-in, and then I go out to the side, and I turn around a bit, and I see Christian on his way to the floor, and we know a little about how he reacts, what that means," Denmark captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg told Danish broadcaster TV2.

"(Everyone) reacted super-fast and with respect ... I can only compliment how much courage those who took care of Christian on the field had. I can't say much more than that you get a shock, and that the most important thing is that Christian is doing well."

Much as the players from both Denmark and Finland had done five years ago, the Danish and Ukrainian footballers quickly formed a ring around Eriksen while he was being attended to by medics, and he was eventually able to walk to an ambulance.

"Christian is doing well and walked from the field himself. As I see it, the pacemaker is working as it should. He was briefly gone, but very quickly regained consciousness, and we were quickly in contact with him," DBU doctor Morten Boesen told Danish media.

"He will now be examined further in the hospital to find out what caused the incident. We are in constant contact with him and the doctors at the hospital. But Christian is doing well, and he asked me to talk to all the players and say that he was okay."

Neither Denmark nor Ukraine qualified for this year's World Cup. Denmark were leading 2-1 on Sunday when the match was abandoned.

Once the game was called off, the players and coaching staff from the two teams stood arm in arm in a ring as Denmark coach Brian Riemer thanked them all for their actions and compassion.

"The most important thing is that Christian is doing well and he is, he has left the field, and he has sent his regards to the players," Riemer said.

"Now it's about us standing together, as you could see that we did in the most dignified way on the field. So it's about standing together now and of course ensuring that everyone has a shoulder to lean on from here."