Christian Eriksen says 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 hospital after the incident and posted an Instagram statement that his recovery has already begun.
\The match in Odense was stopped at 65 minutes and abandoned shortly after, with Eriksen able to walk off the field after regaining consciousness.
\Former Man United, Tottenham and Brentford midfielder has been fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) after suffering a cardiac arrest during Euro 2020 against Finland in 2021.
\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, he wrote.
\He thanked the playing and medical staff and the doctors who have cared for him over the years, saying the ICD did exactly what it was designed to do: protect him when needed.
\The ICD allowed Eriksen to resume his playing career with Brentford in 2022—eight months after his 2021 collapse—and before he spent three years with Manchester United.
\Denmark national team doctor Morten Boesen noted the pacemaker responded as it should. Eriksen added he is focusing on recovery, spending time with his family and playing football with his children.
\Speaking to BBC Sport before his 2022 comeback, Eriksen said, I have an ICD, if anything would happen then I am safe.
\Neither Denmark nor Ukraine 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 equipped with an ICD cannot compete in Serie A, though Premier League and Bundesliga have no such restriction.
\An ICD is a device about the size of a mobile phone with thin wires leading to the area around the heart. There are two main types: one fitted under the skin near the armpit, acting like a mini‑defibrillator, and another typically placed just below the collarbone that can also send regular electrical signals if the heart beats too slowly.
\Aneil Malhotra, a professor in sports cardiology at Manchester Metropolitan University, explained that the ICD monitors the heart rhythm 24/7 and delivers a shock if necessary to restore a normal rhythm, thus saving crucial time compared to CPR performed by external teams.
\Eriksen’s first collapse came nine years after Fabrice Muamba’s near‑fatal injury at Tottenham and 19 years after Marc‑Vivien Foé tragically lost his life in Lyon.
\Luton Town's Premier League match at Bournemouth was abandoned after their captain Tom Lockyer collapsed on the pitch in 2023.
\Other footballers have continued to play with ICDs, including former Manchester United midfielder Daley Blind who returned to Ajax and the Netherlands after being diagnosed with a heart condition in 2019.
\Two years after suffering his cardiac arrest, Lockyer returned to football with Bristol Rovers.
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