FLORENCE: Fiorentina midfielder Edoardo Bove is in intensive care after collapsing during their Serie A match against Inter Milan on Sunday.
Fiorentina said in a statement that Bove was under sedation at the Careggi University Hospital in Florence having lost consciousness during the match.
The club added that early tests had ruled out serious damage to his nervous system, heart and lungs.
Sky Sport Italia reported earlier that Bove was breathing on his own and had regained consciousness.
Play was halted at the stadium with the score 0-0 for a VAR check on a disallowed Lautaro Martinez goal when the 22-year-old suddenly collapsed in the 17th minute after bending down to adjust his boot seconds before.
Medical personnel rushed onto the pitch, with the Fiorentina players forming a ring around Bove, who arrived at the club on loan from AS Roma in August.
After Bove was taken away in an ambulance, the referee asked the visibly shaken and emotional players to leave the pitch and return to the dressing room.
A Serie A spokesperson said later that the match was suspended and would be postponed to a later date.
Bove has made several appearances for Italy's Under-21 team and has recorded four assists and one goal in his 14 appearances for Fiorentina this season.
Inter chairman Giuseppe Marotta stated that postponing the match was an easy decision.
"Football is a community, so naturally when these situations happen, all the players and the referee worked together to help and it was a spontaneous decision to abandon the game," he told Sky Sport Italia.
Support for Bove poured in from other Serie A clubs.
"We all are with you Edoardo!" Juventus posted on X where league leaders Napoli said: "Come on Edoardo, we are with you!" Bove's parent club Roma posted: "One of us, we are all with you. Go Edo!"
Fiorentina suffered tragedy in 2018 when their 31-year-old captain, Davide Astori, died suddenly at the team hotel in Udine, just ahead of a match against Udinese.
Roma defender Evan Ndicka collapsed on the field in the second half of their Serie A match at Udinese in April, before the Ivory Coast player
was cleared to resume playing
days later after a series of tests. - REUTERS