Christian Eriksen, illness on field five years later: Denmark’s doctor reassures
Christian Eriksen leaves the world with bated breath by suffering a new ailment in his national team’s jersey. On Sunday evening, the former Inter Milan midfielder was on the pitch in Kringstad, Norway, where his Denmark and Ukraine were facing each other in a friendly match between World Cup 2026 exclusions. In the 65′ minute, the player currently with Wolfsburg collapsed to the ground and was immediately rescued by teammates and opponents. His condition, fortunately, turned out to be reassuring almost immediately.
In fact, his country’s federation said in an official note that Eriksen “is well, despite the circumstances, and is conscious.” Morten Boesen, Denmark’s national team doctor, provided further clarity: “He is fine, he left the field walking with his legs. Evidently the pacemaker is working in the correct way. He briefly lost consciousness, but quickly recovered. He will now undergo new hospital investigations to verify the cause of the accident. But he is fine and has personally instructed me to confirm to everyone that he is fine.” The friendly against Ukraine, which was interrupted at 2-1, has not resumed.
The big fear stemmed from the dramatic illness that occurred to Eriksen on June 12, 2021, during Euro 2020. The then Inter Milan player, on the pitch with his Denmark side against Finland, collapsed to the ground due to cardiac arrest. Having recovered, he has since been playing with a subcutaneous defibrillator: he has since worn the jerseys of Brentford and Manchester United before a move to Wolfsburg. He was in fact forced to leave Serie A, as Italian law prohibits competitive sports for pacemaker wearers.
The story inevitably brings to mind the case of Edoardo Bove, another footballer forced to deal with a cardiac arrest on the field. The Roman midfielder, struck down by an illness on Dec. 1, 2024 during Fiorentina-Inter, had followed in Eriksen’s very footsteps: unable to play in Italy because of the same subcutaneous defibrillator regulations, he had terminated his contract with Roma and signed with Watford, in the Championship, where he also scored his first goal in March in his new shirt. A story of rebirth that, on the day of Eriksen’s scare, reminds everyone how the courage to return to the field after certain moments represents something greater than just playing soccer.
