Christian Eriksen’s former Tottenham teammate urges him to immediately retire after collapse

Andros Townsend would encourage Christian Eriksen to announce his retirement after collapsing on the pitch for Denmark.

The midfielder went to ground during a friendly against Ukraine on Sunday and given urgent care from medical staff in worrying scenes.

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Thankfully, Eriksen was conscious and able to walk off the pitch, with the match later being abandoned.

Neither Denmark nor Ukraine have qualified for the 2026 World Cup.

It came almost five years to the day since he suffered a cardiac arrest in Denmark’s Euro 2020 group stage match against Finland.

The 34-year-old was then fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), which helps manage any abnormal heart rhythms.

Eriksen has since played for Brentford, Manchester United and VfL Wolfsburg, and made over 40 more appearances for Denmark.

But, when appearing on talkSPORT, his former Tottenham Hotspur teammate Townsend was asked if he would advise him to retire.

“Of course, on the outside, yes, I’d advise him,” he told the Breakfast show. “There are so many more important things to worry about, he’s got a lovely family to worry about.

“But, who knows what goes on inside the heads of anybody? Let alone a footballer who’s worked so hard to get to where he’s got to, who’s almost died on the pitch and has come back to play for Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“So, it’s difficult to know what’s going on in his head but of course, at the moment, there are more important things to think about than a football match.”

Townsend then explained that, despite the worrying incident, Eriksen was in a much better position thanks to his ICD.

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“It was a scare. I had a similar situation with Tom Lockyer at Luton, where he went down.

“Reading a bit more into it, speaking with him and doing some research, I think Christian Eriksen is probably in one of the most privileged positions that if that does happen, like it did, he’s got the defib in his heart, so he’s going to be shocked back to life.

“It’s a scary moment, but I think he’s actually… I don’t want to sound bad, but I think he’s as safe as can be, the fact that he has that defib that can shock him if it does happen, and it did happen yesterday.”

What is the latest on Eriksen?

Eriksen is said to be doing well and there is hope he can be discharged soon.

On Monday morning, Denmark doctor Morten Boesen said: “I spoke with Christian this morning, and he is doing well.

“He is with family and in good spirits. The expectation is that he will be discharged soon and can return home.

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“We are taking good care of the players and staff and remain in regular contact with them.”

talkSPORT reporter Ben Jacobs also joined the Breakfast show to give an update on Eriksen and what’s next for him.

“Two statements were issued by the Danish national team. One, initially saying that Christian Eriksen had left the field and was conscious, and was doing well considering the circumstances.

“The second one was a more detailed statement from the Denmark medical doctor, where he elaborated that Christian Eriksen unfortunately and sadly, and worryingly, had briefly lost consciousness, but was able to leave the field.

“The match was abandoned, as you would expect, against Ukraine. He has a pacemaker fitted, and now they can use a lot of the data after the first incident to really analyse what’s happened.

“We know that he clutched his chest, he fell to the ground, he was taken to hospital, but further tests will be needed so they can establish exactly what happened.

“Interestingly, and maybe reassuringly, the Denmark team doctor did say that the pacemaker actually worked how it should, so we know that it wasn’t a fault specifically with that.

“But, likely in the next 24 to 72 hours, Eriksen will undergo further tests and then the player is expected to make a statement, and hopefully the picture will become clearer.

“The good news is that he’s okay, he left the field. The worrying aspect is they have to determine precisely what has happened.

“And then Eriksen will have a big decision to make as to what he wants to do as far as his playing career is concerned and naturally, safety will come above football.”