Former Tottenham Hotspur winger, Andros Townsend, has said he would advise Christian Eriksen to retire from football after the Denmark midfielder collapsed during Sunday’s international friendly against Ukraine.
Eriksen suddenly went down on the pitch and required urgent medical attention in distressing scenes before regaining consciousness and walking off the field. The match was later abandoned.
The incident occurred almost five years after the former Manchester United midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s Euro 2020 clash against Finland.
Following that episode, Eriksen was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, a device designed to regulate dangerous heart rhythms.
Since then, he has returned to top-level football with Brentford, Manchester United and VfL Wolfsburg, while also continuing his international career with Denmark.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Townsend admitted he would encourage his former teammate to consider stepping away from the game.
“Of course, on the outside, yes, I’d advise him,” he told the Breakfast show (via talkSPORT). “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 also suggested Eriksen’s ICD puts him in a safer position should another medical emergency occur.
“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.”
