Bove was rushed away in an ambulance as players and fans looked on in horror following his sudden fall with 16 minutes on the clock, and Serie A told AFP that the match, which was goalless, will be rescheduled for "an as-yet undetermined date".

Sky Sport report that Bove, on loan at Fiorentina from Roma, subsequently regained consciousness at the Careggi hospital which is close to Fiorentina's Stadio Artemio Franchi.

The players and officials, some of whom were openly sobbing, left the field after seeing the 22-year-old fall, reminding fans of former captain Davide Astori's sudden death in 2018.

Fiorentina suffered tragedy when defender Astori died in his sleep aged 31 in a hotel before a league match at Udinese.

In April, Roma's match at Udinese was suspended and rescheduled when defender Evan Ndicka collapsed with what was initially feared to be a heart attack.

Roma, who eventually won the fixture 2-1, later said that the 24-year-old Ivory Coast international had suffered a collapsed lung, with no cardiac issues detected.

Fiorentina started Sunday's clash level on 28 points with Inter, four points behind league leaders Napoli who won 1-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday.

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