Christian Eriksen reports that he is “doing well” and is at home with his family following his collapse in Sunday’s game against Ukraine.
The 34-year-old spent the night in the hospital after the incident and stated on Instagram that his “recovery has already begun”.
The game in Odense was halted at 65 minutes when he fell and was abandoned shortly thereafter, with Eriksen able to walk off the field after regaining consciousness.
The former Manchester United, Tottenham, and Brentford midfielder was placed with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a type of pacemaker, after suffering a heart arrest during a Euro 2020 match against Finland in 2021.
“As you can probably imagine, receiving a shock from my ICD has had a major effect on both me and my family, but I want to assure everyone that this was a different situation from what happened in 2021,” wrote Eriksen.
“In addition to being grateful for the support and assistance of all the players and the medical team on the field, I am also incredibly grateful to the doctors who have cared for me and my heart over the years.
“Thanks to their expertise, my ICD did exactly what it was designed to do: protect me when I needed it.
The ICD enabled Eriksen to resume his playing career with Brentford in 2022, eight months after his Euros collapse, before spending three years at Manchester United.
On Sunday, Denmark national team doctor Morten Boesen stated that “the pacemaker responded as it should”.
“For now, my focus is on recovering, spending time with my family, going on vacation, and playing football with my children,” Eriksen added.
Eriksen, who now plays for Wolfsburg, expressed no concerns about playing with an ICD in an interview with BBC Sport prior to his 2022 comeback. I don’t see any risk.
Neither Denmark nor Ukraine has qualified for the World Cup, which begins on Thursday.
Following his collapse at Euro 2020, Eriksen’s Inter Milan contract was cancelled by mutual consent because players fitted with an ICD cannot compete in Serie A.
The Premier League and Bundesliga do not have the same regulations.
An ICD is a device about half the size of a mobile phone with thin wires leading to the area around the heart.
There are two main types of ICD.
One is fitted under the skin, usually near the armpit, and acts like a mini defibrillator.
“It works 24 hours a day and is constantly monitoring the heart rhythm,” Aneil Malhotra, a professor in sports cardiology at Manchester Metropolitan University, told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“If the heart develops a dangerous rhythm that could lead to a sudden cardiac arrest, then the device can rapidly detect it and deliver treatment.
“That includes a shock, if necessary, to restore a normal rhythm. It takes out the human factor, as we saw at the Euros, where CPR had to be delivered externally.
“An ICD is already in the patient and saves crucial time.”
The other major form of ICD is often implanted just below the collarbone and, like a pacemaker, can give a regular electrical stimulus if it detects the heart is pumping too slowly.
Eriksen’s first breakdown occurred nine years after Fabrice Muamba suffered a near-fatal injury at Tottenham and 19 years after Marc-Vivien Foe sadly died in Lyon.
Luton Town’s Premier League match against Bournemouth in 2023 was called off because captain Tom Lockyer fell on the pitch.
Former Bolton player Muamba resigned at the age of 24 on the recommendation of his doctors, while some have continued to play with an ICD, such as former Manchester United midfielder Daley Blind, who returned to play for Ajax and the Netherlands after being diagnosed with a cardiac problem in 2019.
Two years after his heart arrest, Lockyer returned to football with Bristol Rovers.
