Italian midfielder Edoardo Bove has a second chance at a football career – but stressed that moving to Watford is not a “second choice”.
The former Roma star has been waiting to return to the pitch since his on-field cardiac arrest in December 2024.
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The 23-year-old collapsed during a Serie A game while playing on loan for Fiorentina against Inter Milan almost 14 months ago.
In the UK, someone dies from cardiovascular disease every three minutes – that’s an average of 460 deaths per day.
From the start of kick-off until Bove fell to the ground in the 16th minute, five people had lost their lives to heart problems in Great Britain.
Luckily, the Italian U21 star didn’t become another statistic – but a cardiac defibrillator inserted ended his playing days in his home country.
Roma then released Bove from his contract and he signed a five-and-a-half year contract with Watford earlier this month.
“I’m here because it’s a very big challenge for me and it’s a very ambitious club with a main goal to get back to the Premier League,” he told The Pitch Prospect.
“The first reason why I chose this club is because I know that I am the type of player who wants challenges like this.
“It’s an ambitious club with a goal in mind. So we’re fighting for something and we want to get promoted to the Premier League.”
“So that was the first reason. Then I spoke to the director and the owner and everything was perfect.
“Even talking about the structures, the medical staff and that is a very important part for me and for me to come back in the way possible.
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“So those are the two main reasons why I’m here and looking and wanting to come back and play the games.”
Bove’s story is becoming more and more commonplace, as is Christian Eriksen’s his contract with Inter Milan ended by mutual agreement after implantation of an ICD in December 2021.
However, the Dane revived his career at Brentford, eventually played for Manchester United and is now at Wolfsburg.
Earlier this season, Tom Lockyer made his first competitive appearance for Bristol Rovers in a 4-0 defeat against Crawley Town since suffering a cardiac arrest while playing for Luton Town in December 2023.
Bove, whose Watford contract runs until the summer of 2031, could return to both in four to six weeks.
“I’m confident,” he added to The Pitch Prospect. “I’m happy because we did a lot of visits and things like that and they were all good.
“What I want to say is that I’m not here because in England you can play even if you have an illness. It’s not like that.”
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Watford “no second choice”
“I’ve done a lot of tests and I’m happy to be here and able to play again,” Bove continued.
“I can’t play in Italy now because of these rules, but I’m very happy to be here. It’s not a second choice.”
“It’s a challenge I wanted to take on and I’m really happy to be here.”
Bove has had interest from the Premier League and Bundesliga, including Liverpool, Everton, Brentford and Bournemouth.
But on joining the Hornets in the Championship he admitted: “I’ve had offers but the thing is I want to play as many games as I can.”
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“I have this kind of connection with this club. I needed a place where I felt really happy and comfortable to come back to.
“We’re doing everything the way it has to be. We’re trying to get me on the pitch as quickly as possible.”
“We are doing it with the staff, the technical staff, the medical staff. It is true that I want to come back, but we have to calculate when and where. At the moment I am really happy with my decision.”
In 2022, former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eriksen told The Pitch Prospect: “If I was scared, I wouldn’t go back.” [to football].’
Meanwhile, Lockyer collapses during Luton Towns Premier League duel against Bournemouth in December 2023 It wasn’t the first time the 31-year-old suffered a serious medical incident during a game.
The Welshman had collapsed seven months earlier in the early stages of the Luton Championship play-off final against Coventry City.
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However, he has since played 14 games for Bristol Rovers since October and Bove is not worried about his own health either.
“I’m not afraid because I think my event took place at a perfect age,” he revealed. “I wasn’t too young to not understand this kind of problem. I wasn’t too old. I was afraid that something might backfire, but I’m a very rational person.
“I heard from many different doctors and we came to the conclusion that I’m fine and can play without any problems. I have to monitor myself and that’s all. I’m living these days.”
“I’ve learned to look at the present and not the future. I can’t wait to come back tomorrow and train again. This morning I trained. It was perfect and I’m happy about it.
“Tomorrow is a new day and I will work to do my best tomorrow too. I’m really happy to be back.
“I take this challenge very seriously, but I want to take it day by day and take every step I need to take.”
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“Watford fans will really respond to him”
Bove scored three goals in 65 Serie A games for boyhood club Roma before joining Fiorentina on loan in the summer of 2024.
European football expert Andy Brassell told The Pitch Prospect.com: “I’m pretty sure Bove would have been in the Italy squad if what happened to him hadn’t happened to him.
“He is one of those who, despite coming from a big club, does not think that he is too good for any job or for any moment. He will not think about resigning.”
“He will think about restarting a career that had so much promise. I think it was very painful for him to leave Roma because it is his club.”
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“It’s obviously quite a relief for him to say goodbye to Roma, as he did at a home game a few weeks ago, just before his contract was officially terminated, and then signed for Watford.
“The fact that he can finally move on from Roma, a club he loves so much and where the fans love him so much and always will, before all this happened.”
“But I think the Watford fans will really respond to him.
“If things go well, and of course his health is the most important thing for the future, I wouldn’t trust him to get promoted and, if Watford were promoted, to establish himself in the Premier League.
“Or if things were going well at Watford and Watford don’t get promoted to establish themselves in the top flight somewhere else, because he’s definitely got it.”