For just over a week ago, Italian football player Edoardo Bove collapsed during a Serie A match between his Fiorentina and Inter. Later, it would turn out that it was a sudden cardiac arrest, and he was subsequently placed in a medical coma.
Since then, the 22-year-old's condition has brightened more and more, and on Thursday, the midfielder was finally able to leave the intensive care unit.
Now, Bove has also had a pacemaker implanted to prevent it from happening again, according to Italian media. Additionally, the midfielder is expected to be able to leave the hospital within a few days, if everything goes as planned.
Whether Bove will ever be able to return to football is still unclear, but after the operation, it is clear that he will no longer be able to play in his home country. Due to stricter health regulations in Italy, players with implanted pacemakers are not allowed to play in the country.
If a comeback becomes relevant, it will likely be outside the country.
Bove is not the first football player to have a defibrillator implanted. During the European Championship 2021, Danish Christian Eriksen experienced a similar incident. He was then forced to leave his Italian club Inter to play for English Brentford.
