FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Coppa Italia - Round of 16 - Fiorentina v Empoli - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - December 4, 2024 A big screen displays a message in support of Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove after he collapsed on the pitch during a league match against Inter Milan REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini/File Photo
(Reuters) - Fiorentina midfielder Edoardo Bove is to have a removable heart starter device implanted following his recent collapse during a Serie A game, Italian media reports said on Monday.
Bove, who collapsed on the pitch during Fiorentina's home game with Inter Milan on Dec. 1 leading to the abandonment of the match, will have the operation on Tuesday which is part of the medical protocol before he can be discharged from hospital.
The Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), a type of pacemaker which can prevent fatal cardiac arrests by discharging a jolt to restore a regular heart rhythm, is not permitted in Serie A.
Once all the results of the medical examinations carried out in recent days on the 22-year-old Italian have been collected, Bove can then decide whether to have the device removed, which would allow him return to play in the Italian league.
Denmark's Christian Eriksen was unable to continue playing for Inter Milan after having an ICD fitted following his cardiac arrest in 2021 during a European Championship match and he later joined Brentford after the Serie A club terminated his contract.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Ken Ferris)
