Denmark team doctor provides Eriksen update after midfielder collapsed

Christian Eriksen. Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Denmark team doctor provides Christian Eriksen update after midfielder collapsed during international friendly against Ukraine

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Jun 7, 2026 4:25 PM ET

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Midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed during Denmark's international friendly against Ukraine at home on Sunday.

After the match was canceled, Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen provided an update on Eriksen. It was a positive one.

Morten Boesen provides more on Christian Eriksen

"He was briefly unconscious but regained consciousness very quickly, and we were quickly in contact with him," Boesen said in a statement. "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."

This isn't the first time Eriksen has collapsed during a match. During Denmark's game against Finland at UEFA Euro 2020, he went into cardiac arrest just before halftime. He was given CPR and an AED (automated external defibrillator) to reset his heart.

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Eriksen went into cardiac arrest due to an issue with his heart's electrical signaling, which caused him to suffer an irregular heartbeat. To continue playing soccer, Eriksen was fitted with an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator), which can reset the heart after cardiac arrest. It works like a pacemaker, except it treats hearts that beat too fast, not too slow. Boesen believes the device did its job on Sunday.

How could latest medical scare affect Christian Eriksen's career?

It's too early to say, given that it's still unclear what caused Eriksen to fall on Sunday. A second collapse, however, may give him second thoughts about playing for much longer.

Eriksen, 34, has never won a FIFA World Cup and won't have a chance to do so this year after Denmark failed to qualify for the 48-team tournament. That said, his legacy as one of his country's greatest players is set. He has scored 46 goals in 151 international matches, No. 3 in Denmark's history.

Clark Dalton

Clark Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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