David De Gea was among the Fiorentina players left worried after teammate Edoardo Bove collapsed on the field just 15 minutes into a Serie A match against Inter on Sunday. The former Manchester United goalkeeper started the match before it had to be suspended.

Bove, 22, fell to the ground early on with players and medical staff rushing to his aid. A wall of bodies was formed to protect the Italian from being visible.

Play was officially stopped by the referee 10 minutes after Bove went down. Some of those on the field were left in tears at the disturbing scenes.

Bove was taken to hospital after being stretched off the field, lead directly into a pitchside ambulance. Both sets of players went down the tunnel shortly after with play being cut short.

It is reported that the player bent down to tie his laces before collapsing. Nobody is said to have been around him when it happened.

Inter posted online to signal that the game had been suspended due to a medical emergency. No official statement from the league has been issued as of yet, although the Serie A X(formerly Twitter) account wrote, "Forza Edo. Siamo con te!" alongside an image of Bove. It translates to: "Come on Edo. We are with you!"

De Gea also sent a message to Bove. He wrote on X, "God Please [prayer hands emoji]".

The young midfielder is on loan from Roma and has played 11 league games for Fiorentina this season. 10 of those have featured De Gea after he was picked up on a free contract earlier this year following his departure from Manchester United.

Fiorentina have won eight of the games with De Gea and Bove on the pitch, losing the first and drawing another. The pair have been victorious in each of their previous seven heading into the match with Inter.