Fiorentina’s match against Inter Milan was called off on Sunday when player Edoardo Bove fainted unexpectedly, Serie A confirmed.
Bove was carried away in an ambulance as players and supporters gazed on in terror after his unexpected fall with 16 minutes on the clock, and Serie A confirmed to AFP that the goalless encounter will be rescheduled for “an as-yet undetermined date.”
According to Sky Sport, Bove, who is on loan at Fiorentina from Roma, regained consciousness at the Careggi hospital near Fiorentina’s Stadio Artemio Franchi.
The players and officials, some of whom were openly sobbing, exited the pitch after watching the 22-year-old fall, reminding supporters of former captain Davide Astori’s untimely death in 2018.
Fiorentina endured tragedy when defender Astori, 31, died in his sleep in a hotel before a league match against Udinese.
Roma’s match against Udinese was stopped and rescheduled in April after defender Evan Ndicka fainted due to what was initially thought to be a heart attack.
Roma, who went on to win 2-1, later revealed that the 24-year-old Ivory Coast international had collapsed a lung but had no heart concerns.
Fiorentina and Inter were tied on 28 points heading into Sunday’s match, four points behind league leaders Napoli, who won 1-0 at Torino earlier in the day.
Serie A confirmed to AFP that Sunday’s late match between Lecce and Juventus, scheduled to begin at 2045 local time (1945 GMT), will be played.