Eriksen collapses again as Denmark abandon Ukraine friendly and boss Riemer speaks out

Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during Denmark’s international friendly against Ukraine on Sunday, prompting the match to be abandoned and the midfielder to be taken to hospital for further tests.

Eriksen regained consciousness at the scene, and a statement from the Danish Football Union confirmed: “Christian Eriksen is conscious and doing well under the circumstances. The match has been called off.”

Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen provided a follow-up update that offered further reassurance. “Christian is doing well and walked off the field himself,” Boesen said. “As I see it, the pacemaker is firing as it should. He was briefly gone, but very quickly regained consciousness, and we were quickly in contact with him. Now he will be examined further in the hospital to find out what caused the incident. But Christian is doing well, and he asked me to greet all the players and say that he was okay.”

Denmark head coach Brian Riemer said the decision to call off the game was never in doubt. “Christian Eriksen waved to his teammates as he left the pitch,” Riemer explained. “A few minutes before he fell ill, he had had a tussle with Ruslan Malinovskyi, and I thought that was why he looked so distressed, but I was wrong. From that moment on, neither I nor the players on the pitch could have carried on with the match.”

Riemer also spoke about his personal bond with Eriksen. “He is a man who has meant a great deal to me. There are some players you become closer to than others, and he was one of those I became close to because of the experience he came with. That is why it naturally sits very deeply with me.”

Teammate Pierre-Emile Højbjerg acknowledged that the incident stirred painful memories of Eriksen’s cardiac arrest at Euro 2020, when the midfielder collapsed during Denmark’s group-stage match against Finland. “The most important thing is that Christian is okay — and that his family is okay,” Højbjerg said. “It feels strange to say it brings back memories. The overriding thing is that the response was handled well, and that the medical staff had everything under control.”

Eriksen, who has played with a pacemaker fitted since his 2021 cardiac arrest, was conscious and in contact with medical staff as he left the field. Further tests at hospital are expected to determine the cause of Sunday’s episode.