Christian Eriksen Is Stable and Talking to Teammates After Collapsing on Field
Jun. 13 2021, Published 1:09 p.m. ET
Good news: Danish footballer Christian Eriksen is “stable” after what happened on Saturday, June 12. In case you missed that scary moment, the 29-year-old midfielder collapsed midway through his team’s opening Euro 2020 match against Finland.
“This morning we have spoken to Christian Eriksen, who has sent his greetings to his teammates. His condition is stable, and he continues to be hospitalized for further examination,” the Danish Football Association said in a statement on June 13, per CNN.
The association continued: “We would like to thank everyone for the heartfelt greetings to Christian Eriksen from fans, players, the Royal Families from both Denmark and England, international associations, clubs, etc. We encourage everyone to send their greetings to the Danish FA, where we will make sure they are passed on to Christian and his family.”
Christian collapsed on the field at the end of the first half of Saturday’s game.
During a throw-in just before the end of the first half of the Denmark–Finland match, Christian collapsed on the football pitch. Medical staff used CPR and a defibrillator to resuscitate Christian, while his tearful teammates formed a wall with their bodies to shield the fallen player from view.
Even Finnish players were visibly upset by the crisis, according to CNN, and Finnish fans joined Danish fans in chanting Christian’s name at the arena, as seen in footage posted by The Guardian.
The match was suspended after the medical emergency, but it later resumed, with Finland winning 1–0.
The team doctor said Christian suffered a cardiac arrest.
Danish team doctor Morten Boesen explained what happened to Christian on Sunday. “He was gone. We did cardiac resuscitation. It was a cardiac arrest,” Morten said, per BBC Sport. “How close were we to losing him? I don’t know, but we got him back after one [defibrillation], so that’s quite fast. … The examinations that have been done so far look fine. We don’t have an explanation to why it happened.”
Christian’s football friends are opening up about the scary moment.
At a press conference after the game, Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand honored Christian and the other players. “It was a tough night,” he told reporters. “We are all reminded of the most important thing in life and that is to have valuable relationships, people we have close to us, our family and friends. We have a group of players I can’t praise enough. I couldn’t be prouder of these people who take such good care of each other, and in such a time where one of my very, very dear friends is suffering.”
Romelu Lukaku, a Belgian player who plays with Christian on the Inter Milan team, explained to reporters he spends more time with Christian than he does with his own family.
“So for me, it was really difficult to get my mind together. I shed a few tears because I was thinking about his family, his kids, his girlfriend, his parents, [his] sister, and also my team,” he added. “To see him going down like that, representing his country, in his country, it was very, very, tough.”
