Christian Eriksen is “doing well” after collapsing on the pitch for the second time while playing for Denmark, prompting serious concern from his former team-mate Harry Kane
Harry Kane has reached out to his former team-mate Christian Eriksen to wish him well after being scared to hear of his collapse. Eriksen was briefly unconscious after falling to the ground during Denmark’s friendly with Ukraine on Sunday.
There was huge concern for the 34-year-old midfielder because he suffered a cardiac arrest in 2021 while playing for the national team. Eriksen was later fitted with a implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) device and was able to resume his playing career.
The ICD did its job on Sunday after Eriksen collapsed in the 65th minute of the friendly match and he was able to walk off the pitch. He spent time in hospital recovering, before being discharged back to his home on Monday.
Eriksen then issued a statement to thank the medical professionals who helped him, reassure his fans that he was “doing well” and explain that he would now take time to recover and be with his family. Kane played with Eriksen at Tottenham for seven years and was initially scared when he heard what had happened.
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“I just reached out to him today,” the England captain told ITV. “I’ve not heard anything back from Chris yet, but obviously he put out a statement saying he was going to go away, rest up and spend some time with the family now, which I think is important.
“Obviously, I’m sure he’s going to have some decisions to make over the next months. But the main thing is that the defibrillator was there and it worked. I think it’s scary because we all remember what it was like when it happened last time.
“And I’m sure his family and his wife Sabrina are the same. It was a scary moment when we came in and saw the news to be honest with you. Obviously, I’m a little bit calmer now I know he’s okay and everything seemed to work in the way it was supposed to. I’m just wishing him well and I’m sure I’ll catch up with him soon.”
Eriksen was making his 151st appearance for Denmark in the friendly at Nature Energy Park in Odense on Sunday. There has been suggestions that he could choose to retire following the second scary incident of his career.
“I want to let everyone know that I am doing well and that I am home with my family,” Eriksen wrote on Instagram.
“As you can probably imagine, receiving a shock from my ICD has had a major impact on both me and my family, but I want to reassure everyone that this was a different situation from what happened in 2021. I am feeling good, and my recovery has already started.
“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. For now, my focus is on recovering, spending time with my family, going on vacation, and playing football with my children.”
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