Fiorentina captain Luca Ranieri asked the media to respect teammate Edoardo Bove’s privacy and stop spreading rumours about him before the 1-0 win over Cagliari on Sunday, his side’s first match since the midfielder’s sudden collapse last weekend.
Before kick-off, Ranieri expressed anger at reports that Bove was set to have a defibrillator fitted, which would force him to look for a club abroad due to stringent health regulations in Italian sport.
Christian Eriksen had to leave Inter Milan in 2021 in the wake of his cardiac arrest and collapse while playing for Denmark at that year’s European Championship.
Eriksen was banned from playing in Italian football after having an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD, fitted but now plays for Manchester United and still represents his country.
READ | Fiorentina’s Edoardo Bove ‘awake and alert’ after on-field collapse against Inter Milan
“I ask for a bit of respect for both him and for his privacy because a series of untrue things have been written and said about him,” said Ranieri.
Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino also insisted that he and his players were “waiting to welcome him back on the pitch soon.”
Danilo Cataldi fired in the only goal of the game in the 24th minute to give Fiorentina its eighth straight win in Italy’s top flight, not counting its interrupted match with Inter Milan which was goalless when Bove fell.
Cataldi dedicated his superb opener to his good friend and fellow Roman Bove, with the pair on loan at Fiorentina from capital city clubs Lazio and Roma.
The 30-year-old ran to a pitchside camera to make the number four — Bove’s shirt number — and a heart with his fingers after rifling Lucas Beltran’s first-time strike into the top corner.
Palladino’s side sits fourth, level on 31 points with third-placed Inter and a point behind Napoli which can retake its league lead from Atalanta with a win over Lazio in the day’s late fixture.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com