Ex-Premier League Star Urges Eriksen To Retire After Collapsing Again

Andros Townsend said he would encourage Christian Eriksen to consider retirement after the midfielder collapsed on the pitch for Denmark.

Eriksen went to ground during a friendly against Ukraine on Sunday and received urgent medical care in a worrying scene.

He remained conscious and was able to walk off the pitch, but the match was subsequently abandoned.

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

The incident came almost five years to the day after Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in Denmark’s Euro 2020 group‑stage match against Finland.

The 34‑year‑old was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to manage abnormal heart rhythms.

Since then he has played for Brentford, Manchester United and VfL Wolfsburg, and has earned more than 40 additional caps for Denmark.

During a talkSPORT interview, Townsend was asked whether he would advise Eriksen to retire.

“Of course, on the outside, I’d advise him,” he said on 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 at, 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 is in a much better position thanks to his ICD.

“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.”