Christian Eriksen defies medical warnings to plan football return after second on-field collapse

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Christian Eriksen is preparing to return to professional football just one month after collapsing on the pitch for the second time in his career—defying stark medical warnings that another serious cardiac event is inevitable.

The 34-year-old VfL Wolfsburg midfielder will soon begin an individual rehabilitation programme in his native Denmark, his club announced on Thursd. The decision was finalised following discussions between Eriksen and Wolfsburg managing director Dieter Hecking, with the 2. Bundesliga side confirming they will maintain regular contact with the player and his treating physicians.

“VfL is in regular contact with Christian as well as the treating physicians. For the course of his rehabilitation, we continue to wish Christian all the best,” the club said in a statement.

The announcement comes almost five years to the day since Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 group game against Finland in Copenhagen. On that occasion, he collapsed and lost consciousness, requiring CPR on the pitch before being resuscitated with a portable defibrillator. Days later, he underwent surgery to have an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) fitted—a small life-saving device, about half the size of a mobile phone, that constantly monitors heart rhythm and delivers electrical shocks to restore normal function if it detects a dangerously abnormal pattern.

The device saved his life again on June 7, when Eriksen clutched his chest and fell to the ground in the 65th minute of Denmark’s friendly against Ukraine at Odense Stadium. Television footage showed the former Manchester United and Tottenham star collapsing away from the ball midway through the second half. Medical staff rushed to his aid as he was shielded from view by concerned teammates from both sides. Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen confirmed the ICD “responded as it should,” delivering a shock to restore Eriksen’s heart rhythm. Remarkably, the midfielder was able to walk himself to the ambulance that took him to Odense University Hospital.

Eriksen was discharged from hospital the following day. In a statement posted on Instagram, he wrote: “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”.

“Thanks to their expertise, my ICD did exactly what it was designed to do: protect me when I needed it,” he added. “For now, my focus is on recovering, spending time with my family, going on vacation, and playing football with my children”.

Despite Eriksen’s optimism, leading cardiologists have issued grave warnings about his continued participation in elite sport. Henning Mølgaard, a Danish heart expert, told Danish outlet Bold that Eriksen should not return to football.

“Most elite athletes choose to retire after having an ICD implanted. We saw this with Ståle Solbakken [the current Norway boss],” Mølgaard said. “As cardiologists we are not lawmakers, but our clear recommendation, also in light of European and American studies, is that competing in elite sports with an ICD is highly unusual”.

His most chilling assessment was unequivocal: “We know he [Eriksen] will collapse again at some point. But we simply cannot say with certainty whether the ICD device will be needed to restart his heart in three months, or in three, four, five, or ten years. However, it is going to happen again”.

The warnings have been echoed by others across the football world. Former Denmark midfielder Thomas Gravesen, now a pundit, urged Eriksen to retire for the sake of his family, noting that his wife Sabrina Kvist Jensen was pitchside for both collapses. “This has nothing to do with a career anymore. This has to do with life. It’s Christian Eriksen’s life,” Gravesen told Viaplay.

Eriksen’s professional future remains uncertain. He joined Wolfsburg as a free agent in September 2025 after three years at Manchester United and remains under contract until 2027. However, his path back to competitive football is fraught with medical and regulatory obstacles. After his 2021 cardiac arrest, his contract with Inter Milan was cancelled by mutual consent because Serie A prohibits players fitted with an ICD from competing. The Premier League and Bundesliga do not have the same restrictions, which allowed him to resume his career with Brentford in 2022.

For now, Eriksen has not joined Wolfsburg for the start of pre-season. Whether he will ever pull on the club’s colours again remains an open question—one that pits the midfielder’s unwavering determination against the sobering reality of his medical condition.