AS Roma coach Daniele De Rossi assured that Evan Ndicka is “okay” after he collapsed onto the pitch during their Serie A game with Udinese.
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Ndicka is “okay”
Rossi told the press that his defender’s condition isn’t as scary as everyone initially thought, saying he suffered a collapsed lung.
The Ivory Coast is currently out of the hospital
“First and foremost he’s okay, which is the most important thing,” he said.
“He’s as good as a lad who’s just suffered a collapsed lung can be. It’s an ordeal, it’s painful. But it’s not as scary as we’d imagined it to be in the heat of the moment.”
Roma scared for Ndicka’s life
Ndicka, 24, collapsed off the ball in the 72nd minute at the Bluenergy Stadium, with Roma and Udinese tied at 1-1.
The Sunday’s game was abandoned after a lenghty discussion from both sides.
“We received a lot of praise for something that we deemed to be a standard course of action. I hope that any coach would’ve acted as I did,” De Rossi said.
“Any player faced with the prospect of having to continue a match would have tensed up, knowing their teammate had suffered such an injury or, as the guy with the electrocardiogram had told us that Evan was in the process of suffering a heart attack.”
“When such a situation is up in the air — out of respect for your fellow professionals, everyone involved, and the paying public — it’s not about setting an example, it’s about doing what’s right. We all agreed on this,” De Rossi added.
Rossi said no one from his Roma players wanted to proceed the match after the unfortunate incident.
“None of the players wished to proceed with the match. And it wasn’t my call to abandon the fixture, as has been written. It was a collective decision, backed by the club.”
“It’s nice to be reminded of what a family we are in such moments, not just when we win matches.”
Roma will face AC Milan on Thrusday in the second leg of the Europa League quarterfinals.
