The 34-year-old was expected back at the 2. Bundesliga club last Friday for the match against the French side.
He never travelled. Managing director Dieter Hecking has since confirmed the Denmark international will instead complete an individual rehabilitation programme in his home country, more than seven weeks after collapsing on the pitch during a friendly against Ukraine.
“The plan was for him to join the squad for the friendly against Lyon and then travel to the training camp. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible,” Hecking told reporters.
“He will soon begin an individual rehabilitation programme in Denmark, and that will likely take some time.”
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Wolfsburg confirmed the arrangement in a statement earlier this month, saying the decision to base rehabilitation in Denmark was taken following discussions with Hecking and the doctors overseeing Eriksen’s care.
The club said it remains in “regular contact” with the player and his medical team.
Hecking refuses to force a return
“We are not going to put pressure on him. It is a very sensitive situation that we are handling with great responsibility,” the managing director said.
Wolfsburg’s second-tier season opens at home against Kaiserslautern on 8 August. Eriksen, captain of the side since mid-March, will not be involved.
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German outlet Kicker reported last week that a return to professional football is “far away” for the Dane, and that continuing his career at all is unlikely.
Cardiologist wants Eriksen to stop
Eriksen collapsed in the 64th minute of Denmark’s friendly against Ukraine on 7 June, briefly clutching his chest before going down.
He had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) fitted after his cardiac arrest at Euro 2020. It was his second on-field cardiac episode in five years.
Days after the incident, Henning Molgaard, a former senior consultant in cardiology at Skejby Hospital in Aarhus, publicly urged him to retire.
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“We know he 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,” Molgaard told Flashscore.
The Danish specialist added that competing in elite sport with an ICD is “highly unusual” and cited former Norway international Stale Solbakken as one of few players who continued after such a device was fitted.
Neither Wolfsburg nor Eriksen has commented on whether he will return to competitive football.
Hecking has said he does not know when the midfielder will rejoin the squad. The pre-season fixture list will now be completed without him.
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