Drama surrounding collapsed Italy star (22): Why he will never be allowed to play in his home country again

Florence - He has won the fight for his life, but his career in his home country is probably over: Italy's soccer star Edoardo Bove (22) will never be allowed to play in the country of his heart again .

Edoardo Bove (22) suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening during the match between AC Florence and Inter Milan.
Edoardo Bove (22) suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening during the match between AC Florence and Inter Milan.  © Massimo Paolone/LaPresse/AP/dpa

As the Gazzetta dello Sport reports, the AC Florence professional will have a defibrillator inserted following his cardiac arrest.

This would mean that he would never be allowed to play in Italy's Serie A again due to a very strict protocol.

The same fate had already befallen Denmark's Christian Eriksen (32), who suffered a cardiac arrest during the match against Finland on June 12 at the 2021 European Championship.

At the time, he was under contract with Inter Milan and then had to leave the club, although he had made a full recovery and is now even playing for the national team again.

After collapsing on the pitch, Eriksen was also fitted with a small defibrillator to protect him from further possible cardiac arrhythmia with serious consequences.

There is a ten-year age difference between Eriksen and Bove, which adds a special touch to the drama.

Edoardo Bove: Inflamed heart muscle tissue could be the cause of his cardiac arrest

The fact that Bove is now likely to opt for a defibrillator is tantamount to the end of his career in Italy.
The fact that Bove is now likely to opt for a defibrillator is tantamount to the end of his career in Italy.  © IMAGO / Insidefoto

The Italian has played for all of his country's national teams and is on his way to the senior national team. Trained in the youth ranks of AS Roma, he is currently on loan to AC Florence.

The midfielder has scored once in eleven games there so far. Even before his big breakthrough, Sunday evening's match against Inter Milan could be his last in Italy.

Doctors are still searching for the cause of his cardiac arrest. It is suspected that inflamed heart muscle tissue could have been responsible.

The doctors are even going back a few years in their analysis and looking again at all the images of Bove's heart. All of these examinations during his time at AS Roma were unremarkable, but the doctors now prefer to turn over every stone twice.

On Wednesday, Bove was at least able to leave the intensive care unit again, but his mental healing will certainly take a long time in view of the impending end of his career in Italy.