Ryerson looks back on dramatic hospitalisation

Julian Ryerson has revealed what happened before and after he was taken to hospital following Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League game against Barcelona.

Borussia Dortmund defender Julian Ryerson had to be substituted at half-time in his side’s 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in November after feeling unwell and was subsequently taken to hospital.

Bild reported that the Norwegian international collapsed in the stadium’s catacombs and had to lay down in the dressing room, with the club later citing circulatory problems as the reason.

In an interview with Norwegian broadcaster TV2, Ryerson has now spoken publicly for the first time about what happened.

“We haven’t quite got the hang of it yet, but I struggled a bit at half-time against Barcelona,” said Ryerson.

The right-back went on to insist that he “didn’t collapse”, but admitted that he wasn’t quite in his right mind.

“No, not really, I wasn’t,” he said.

“I was conscious all the time, but there were medical staff and stuff, so maybe it was made up to be a bit more dramatic than it actually was,” Ryerson revealed, adding that he ended up staying in hospital for about a week.

“Exactly what triggered it… There’s been some speculation about that, but we have a picture of what happened,” he said, without wanting to go into more detail.

“I went through a thorough examination afterwards, so I’m fine now.”