Denmark vs Ukraine friendly abandoned after Christian Eriksen collapses on pitch

Christian Eriksen is conscious and "doing well under the circumstances" after collapsing while playing for Denmark in a friendly against Ukraine.

The 34-year-old, who suffered a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 during a group stage match against Finland, could be seen clutching his chest in the second-half of Sunday's game in Odense, Denmark.

After falling to the ground, medics rushed to his aid before players from both teams formed a huddle around him.

Eriksen received treatment for approximately 13 minutes before getting back to his feet. At this point, thousands of fans inside Nature Energy Park gave him a standing ovation while chanting his name.

Sigurd Smehus Kringstad, who was officiating the contest, then decided to abandon the match with around 75 minutes on the clock.

Denmark were leading 2-1 when Eriksen collapsed. Patrick Dorgu and Joakim Maehle scored for the Danes, while Viktor Tsygankov had pulled one back for Ukraine just before half-time.

It was later confirmed that a conscious Eriksen was taken away in an ambulance with wife Sabrina by his side.

A statement from the Danish FA said: “Christian Eriksen is conscious and feeling well according to the circumstances. The match has been called off.”

Players huddled around Eriksen while he was receiving treatment. Image credit: X

Denmark's doctor confirms Eriksen is "doing well" after walking off the pitch

Denmark's national team doctor Morten Boesen, who was credited with saving Eriksen's life when he collapsed against Finland in 2021, also posted a statement on social media.

He confirmed that Eriksen's pacemaker "responded as it should" during the on-field incident.

"Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself. As I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should," he said.

"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."

After he collapsed on the pitch while playing at Euro 2020, Eriksen was fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), a device designed to perform defibrillation when a person's heart rate exceeds safe levels.

Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 and was given CPR

According to the previously mentioned Boesen, Eriksen was "gone" before being resuscitated during the Euro 2020 clash against Finland.

"He was gone, and we did cardiac resuscitation. It was a cardiac arrest," Boesen said, just days after Eriksen's collapse. "How close were we [to losing Eriksen]? I don't know."