Christian Eriksen collapsed during Denmark's friendly against Ukraine on Sunday, five years after suffering a cardiac arrest during the European Championships.

"Christian Eriksen is conscious and doing well under the circumstances," the Danish football association wrote on social media.

The 34-year-old has worn a pacemaker on his heart since he collapsed during the group stage game against Finland at Euro 2020, which was played in 2021.

That led to him spending more than six months away from football.

On Sunday, he fell to the ground in the 64th minute of the match, with Denmark leading 2-1 at the time.

"There was a throw-in and walked calmly to the touchline. Then I turned around and I saw Christian collapse," Denmark captain Pierre Emile Hojbjerg told Danish station TV2.

"We know very well what that means and the reaction was extremely rapid and respectful."

Medical staff rushed onto the pitch to give Eriksen assistance, while players gathered around him to shield the scene from television or smartphone cameras.

The referee called off the match a quarter of an hour later.

"It's an extremely shocking experience for everyone, the staff, the players and the opponents," said Danish coach Brian Riemer, who previously worked with Eriksen at Brentford.

"He's someone who counts a lot for me. You're closer to certain players than others and he was one of the ones I got close to at Brentford."

Eriksen was subsequently taken to hospital in Odense, where the match was played.

"The main thing is that he was able to walk off by himself, because that makes you think he's doing okay given the circumstances," former player Niklas Bendtner told TV2.

"But these are terrible images that outweigh the rest of the evening. It's the second time it's happened and as a friend of Christian's. It's really awful."

Denmark's team doctor Morten Boesen said Eriksen was "doing well".

"As I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should.

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

"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.

"But Christian is doing well and he asked me to send his regards to all the players and tell them that he was ok."

He said he had been in contact with Eriksen's cardiologist in Denmark, who would be able to analyse the data from the pacemaker. (AFP)



Edited by Cecil Wong