Fiorentina's Serie A match with Inter Milan was stopped on Sunday after midfielder Edoardo Bove suddenly collapsed to the ground.

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.

Sky Sport report that the 22-year-old, on loan at Fiorentina from Roma, dropped to the turf while bending down to take off his boot.

The players and officials, some of whom were openly sobbing, left the field with the match, which was goalless, likely to be called off and rescheduled for a later date.

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

Roma, who eventually won that match 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.

In 2018 Fiorentina suffered tragedy when then-captain Davide Astori died in his sleep aged 31 in a hotel before a league match at Udinese.