Christian Eriksen is to “complete an individual rehabilitation programme” in his native Denmark after collapsing on the pitch during an international friendly in June, his club Wolfsburg have said.
Denmark’s friendly with Ukraine was abandoned after Eriksen collapsed in the 65th minute at the Odense Isstadion.
The 34-year-old’s heart starter — also known as an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a small device that regulates abnormal heart rhythms — shocked him during the match and the midfielder collapsed after appearing to clutch his chest. He was able to walk to a waiting ambulance which took him to hospital for further tests.
Eriksen was fitted with an ICD after suffering a cardiac arrest during a European Championship match for Denmark against Finland in 2021.
In a brief statement posted to the club’s social media channels, Wolfsburg said on Thursday: “Christian Eriksen will soon begin the next stage of his recovery.
“We’re in regular contact with Christian and his medical team, and we continue to wish him all the best throughout his rehabilitation.
“Following discussions with VfL managing director Dieter Hecking, it has been agreed that the 34-year-old will complete an individual rehabilitation program in his home country of Denmark.”
Eriksen joined Wolfsburg as a free agent last September after leaving Manchester United and has a contract until summer 2027 with the Bundesliga club.
The former Ajax, Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan and Brentford playmaker made 31 appearances in the German top flight last season, scoring three times and providing nine assists.
Denmark led Ukraine 2-1 when Eriksen collapsed. Medical staff from both teams attended to him within seconds, and the game did not continue.
Martin Boesen, Denmark’s team doctor, told reporters after the incident that Eriksen’s “pacemaker responded as it should”, and that he was “briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly”, before walking off the pitch by himself.
Eriksen was making his 151st appearance for Denmark, who did not qualify for this summer’s World Cup in North America.