Christian Eriksen conscious after on-pitch collapse; Denmark vs. Ukraine abandoned - ESPN

Christian Eriksen is «conscious and doing well under the circumstances» after collapsing during Denmark's friendly against Ukraine, which forced the game to be abandoned.

Eriksen, 34, appeared to grab his chest before falling to the ground in the 65th minute of the international fixture in the Danish city of Odense, with Norwegian referee Sigurd Smehus Kringstad calling the game off in the 79th minute due to the incident involving the VfL Wolfsburg midfielder.

«He was briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly,» national team doctor Morten Boesen said in a Danish federation statement.

The former Manchester United and Tottenham player previously suffered a cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the pitch during Denmark's Euro 2020 encounter with Finland in Copenhagen in June 2021.

Eriksen was subsequently fitted with a special heart-starting device known as an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator and, after being released by Internazionale, was able to relaunch his playing career with Premier League team Brentford in February 2022, just eight months after collapsing against Finland.

Denmark and Ukraine players surrounded Eriksen after he fell to the ground in Odense, and the Danish Football Association has since issued an update on the player's condition, saying that «Eriksen is conscious and doing well under the circumstances.»

National team doctor Boesen added: «Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself. 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