A Swedish international and former Arsenal footballer is being treated in hospital for an acute brain illness after collapsing at his home, his Danish club have said.
Kristoffer Olsson, who spent three years at Arsenal, is on a ventilator in Aarhus University Hospital, FC Midtjylland said on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old midfielder lost consciousness last Tuesday, the club said, and was transferred to the hospital, where he is being supported by his immediate family and members of the club’s staff.
Sweden’s Kristoffer Olsson in a match against Poland in 2021. Pic: AP
FC Midtjylland said some of Denmark’s “leading medical experts” are working to diagnose the condition and begin treatment.
The club said “increasing rumours” about his absence from the first team had forced them to reveal what had happened to him.
In its statement on its social media accounts, FC Midtjylland said Olsson suffered “an apparently acute disease related to the brain, which is not caused by self-harm of any kind, nor is the cause due to external factors”.
“Everyone at FC Midtjylland is of course deeply affected by Kristoffer’s sudden illness and our thoughts and full support go to Kristoffer and his family.”
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In a post on X, Arsenal wished him “a full and speedy recovery”.
Kim Kallstrom, the Swedish Football Association’s head of football, said on the body’s website: “You feel so genuinely sad at the heart of the news about how a young person can be affected in this way. All our thoughts go out to Kristoffer and his family.”
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Olsson has played 47 times for Sweden, most recently against Estonia in November.
He joined Midtjylland, in central Denmark, in 2022 for a second spell, having previously played for Anderlecht in Belgium, Krasnodar in Russia and AIK in Sweden.
On its website, Arsenal described Olsson, who left the Premier League giants in 2014, as a “technically gifted midfielder” who was “composed in possession and accomplished in front of goal”.
The site said he “featured regularly for the under-21s and soon made his debut for the first team, scoring a penalty in the shoot-out win over West Brom in September 2013”.
