Bove is awake, alert after being placed in medically induced coma

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Italian soccer club Fiorentina says midfielder Edoardo Bove is awake and "alert” after being placed in a medically induced coma following his collapse during a game on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Bove collapsed on the field in the 16th minute of a Serie A match against Inter Milan. He was carried off on a stretcher to an ambulance near the pitch and taken to Careggi Hospital in Florence. The game was abandoned.

“Edoardo Bove, following an uneventful night, was awakened and extubated this morning. He is currently awake, alert and oriented,” the team said on X.

“He has spoken with his family, club management, the coach and his teammates, who all rushed to go and see him as soon as they heard the good news," the club wrote. "Further tests will be carried out in the coming days to establish what led to the critical situation that took place yesterday.”

Fiorentina's next match is on Wednesday at home against Empoli in the Italian Cup. There was some debate in Italy over whether the Fiorentina players would feel mentally ready to return to the field and Empoli President Fabrizio Corsi said he wouldn't be against postponing the match.

However, Fiorentina director Alessandro Ferrari said Bove had asked his teammates to play. Most of them visited him on Monday — as well as Sunday evening — and he also had a video call with them later when they were at training.

“Fiorentina has announced that, following the reassuring news that came today and after the video call that Edoardo Bove had with all his teammates, the coach and his staff as well as the team have decided to return to the pitch immediately and prepare for the match against Empoli on Wednesday,” the club said in a statement.

“President Rocco Commisso is in constant contact with the club’s directors and Edoardo’s family and has been reassured by the boy’s father about his health conditions.”

Bove is a product of the Roma youth academy and joined Fiorentina on loan in the offseason with the option to make the move permanent.

He has scored one goal in 11 Serie A games this season.

“We are much more relaxed and happy, we saw the boy this morning, we spoke with him, he's lucid, awake, with his usual desire to laugh and joke," Ferrari said. "The situation obviously has to remain under control ... but the boy is OK.

“From a medical point of view, all the next tests following what happened are going on, but what's good is that after Bove spent the night intubated he was able to wake up on his own, aware, lucid, without the use of machines.”

There have been continuous messages of support since the incident. Fans gathered outside the hospital on Sunday and displayed a banner that read; “Forza Edoardo, Florence is with you.”

That banner has now been moved inside the hospital, with the permission of medical staff and has been hung up outside Bove's room, in the intensive care unit.

“Fiorentina would like to thank Careggi University Hospital and all of the doctors and staff for the wonderful humanity and professionalism they have shown,” the club added.

“The club would also like to thank the wider Fiorentina family and the entire world of football who, during this difficult time, have shown great sympathy and care through their messages and support, which have been of great comfort to both to the club and Edoardo and his family.”

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