In the midst of the fight for qualifying places for the Champions League, AS Roma traveled this Sunday against Udinese. While the Friuli club opened the scoring via Roberto Pereyra (23rd), Romelu Lukaku (64th) responded in the second half. As the match got carried away with this score at 1-1, the competitive aspect was completely forgotten and a feeling appeared at the Stadio Friuli, that of fear. Completely unexpectedly, AS Roma’s Ivorian defender Evan Ndicka collapsed to the ground and a long incomprehension of events followed. Lorenzo Lucca, the Udinese striker, and Mile Svilar, the AS Roma goalkeeper, went directly to his bedside.
Quickly taken care of by his club’s medical staff, Evan Ndicka was the victim of an accident that was far from trivial. According to the latest information from Italy, the former Eintracht Frankfurt player had received an involuntary blow in the 38th minute in the heart which subsequently created lung compression and then led to fibrillations. This is why the theory of a cardiac accident was put forward in the first place and why help arrived with a defibrillator. This new hypothesis is the one that now holds water even if today’s tests will make it possible to refine the medical judgment of this accident.
Daniele De Rossi master of debates
THE Corriere dello Sport which returned in its columns on the unfolding of the facts highlights the reactivity of Daniele De Rossi. The AS Roma coach understood that it was not a trivial accident and asked the trainers to hurry to help the player. Taken out on a stretcher to be transported to the hospital, Evan Ndicka came out raising his thumb to reassure the people around him and show that he was conscious. On the pitch, the situation was still confusing and the coaches took matters into their own hands. This time again, Daniele De Rossi, accompanied by one of his players Gianluca Mancini, went to see the referee Luca Pairetto to ask him to stop the match temporarily in order to find out how his player was doing.
He then went to see Gabriele Cioffi, his Udinese counterpart, who expressly told him that he understood the situation and that he wanted to wait as long as it took before possibly resuming the match. He also asked him if he wanted to suspend the match, explaining that he would follow his choice. To which Daniele De Rossi, who feared a heart problem in his player, would have told him: “what if the irreparable happened and the news broke while we were playing?” Meanwhile, some AS Roma players were experiencing this moment in difficulty. Friend of Evan Ndicka, Houssem Aouar was particularly touched, putting his head in his hands and regularly looking towards the tunnel to get news. Some of his teammates were in the same situation. Continuing his work and taking in the sounds of bells from different sides, referee Luca Pairetto who had suspended the match then decided to postpone it. A decision welcomed favorably in the stands since the supporters applauded following this decision. Lorenzo Pellegrini and Gianluca Mancini also went to see AS Roma supporters to explain the situation to them.
AS Roma accompanied Evan Ndicka to the hospital
Having left for the emergency room in Udine and taken care of by Doctor Massimo Imazio, Evan Ndicka carried out multiple tests on his arrival. Scanner, electrocardiogram and blood tests, everything came together quickly for him. At the same time, the AS Roma team arrived by bus at the hospital to quickly get news about their player. The general director of the Roman club, Lina Souloukou, but also the coach Daniele De Rossi and the captain Lorenzo Pellegrini went to see the player who quickly reassured them about his state of health. Moreover, according to the Italian media, Daniele De Rossi was humorous with his player seeing that his condition had stabilized and improved: “hurry up and get well, I will wait for you in the field on Thursday.”
The players waiting outside the hospital were reassured and at 9:20 p.m. AS Roma left the premises, leaving only club director Massimo Manara at the player’s bedside. A decision taken following the player’s reassuring state since many basic players had asked to stay and sleep in Udine in order to be close to their teammate. Staying overnight in hospital, Evan Ndicka will continue tests today and a diagnosis could arrive to know if he will be able to leave the hospital this evening and return to Rome in order to recover peacefully from this misadventure. A return to the field is not on the immediate agenda, but the trend is reassuring in relation to the events that occurred yesterday. As for the meeting between Udinese and AS Roma, it will surely take place during the week of the Italian Cup final (between May 13 and 17) and will resume in the 71st minute with the ball in the feet of Maduka Okoye, the Udinese goalkeeper. It remains to be seen whether Evan Ndicka will already be back or not by then.
