Fiorentina star Robin Gosens has opened up on the terrifying moment his team-mate Edoardo Bove collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest during a match in Italy.

Bove, 22, was rushed to hospital in December after falling to the floor untouched in the 16th minute of a Serie A match, which was subsequently abandoned.

Players and staff had formed a wall around Bove while medical staff tended to him. Reports in Italy claim that a defibrillator was used to restart Bove’s heart before the footballer was taken to the intensive care unit of the Careggi hospital in Florence.

Gosens has now opened up on the harrowing incident, admitting that he was ‘looking into the eyes of a dead person’ while forming a wall around the midfielder. 

Speaking on his own podcast How Are You? via Bild, Gosens said: ‘I felt like I was actually looking into the eyes of a dead person. There was little life in them. It was probably the worst thing I’ve ever seen.’

He went on to explain how important physical and mental wellbeing are to him, hoping that his podcast can raise awareness for those suffering with health problems.

‘It shows how fragile our world can be. I still feel that mental health issues are somehow a taboo subject, which I can’t understand.’  

The Italian midfielder, who is on loan from Roma, has been recovering well from heart surgery after leaving intensive care and was seen visiting his team-mates at the training ground on December 14. 

Bove’s last appearance came during Fiorentina’s 3-0 win over Inter in February, when he made a 17-minute cameo.

However, Bove has not featured for the club since being fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), as Serie A rules forbid individuals wearing one from playing.

In an interview with Vanity Fair about the incident, Bove said: ‘I remember very little, just that I was on the field and my head started spinning, like when you get out of bed too quickly, I felt a sense of exhaustion… and that was it.

‘I don’t remember falling. I woke up in the hospital and touched my legs because I thought something had happened to my knee, an accident. 

‘At first, it wasn’t as difficult for me as it was for my loved ones: I didn’t even understand the seriousness of the situation; I thought I had simply fainted.’ 

Footage emerged in December of Bove making a tear-jerking return to Fiorentina’s training ground as he was clapped and cheered by his team-mates, who were sat down for a team meeting.

Several rounds of applause broke out even after the star has taken his seat in the training ground.

With Bove’s long-term future in Italy a doubt due to Serie A’s rules on players fitted with defibrillators, the star may look to move this summer in a bid to revive his career.

Christian Eriksen was an Inter Milan player when he collapsed playing for Denmark at Euro 2020, and subsequently had to leave the club for Brentford due to the ruling.

England could therefore be an option for Bove if a resolution is not found, with the young midfielder coming close to a move to Nottingham Forest in the summer, according to reports.

‘It all reached a head on August 30, when she [ex-Roma chief executive Lina Souloukou] wanted to push him to accept the sale to Nottingham Forest for €8m (£6.6m),’ Bove’s agent Diego Tavano told Corriere dello Sport ahead of the January transfer window..

‘There was also the idea of a loan to Olympiacos from Nottingham, but I considered that transfer value to be far below his real worth. 

‘We fought hard and I reassured her, I would find a situation to suit everyone and get more money for the club. That solution for us was only Fiorentina. [Daniele] De Rossi, in any case, always advised the club to give Edo away with an option to bring him back.’ 

Fiorentina take on struggling giants AC Milan in Serie A next before a trip to Slovenian outfit Celje in the Europa Conference League next Thursday.