Udinese director Federico Balzaretti: “Ndicka is doing well.”

Udinese director Federico Balzaretti shared an update on the status of Roma defender Evan Ndicka who suffered a collapse in the second half of yesterday’s match at the Dacia Arena.

In an interview with Radio Serie con RDS, Balzaretti discussed Ndicka’s present condition and reflected on the events from last night’s match.

“Ndicka is doing well, what I know is what I read from the published updates, the club itself will give more information. The news is positive compared to yesterday’s scare and this gives us hope.”

“It seems that the worst is over, but we are waiting for official communications from Roma,” he added.

“Our player, Kamara, was with him all evening long and into the night. He told us Ndicka seemed calm about the situation,” Balzaretti continued.

“The doctors were trying to take a pulse, but due to the loud noise of the stadium they couldn’t hear well. When you are in the stadium it is normal to sing and shout, but as soon as one of the rescuers asked the audience to be quiet so he could hear the heartbeat, there were thirty seconds of silence which were surreal. Our fans have proven to be exceptional and grasped the importance of the moment.”

“The players did all well on the pitch and I must also congratulate referee Pairetto who was very good. He handled the matter fantastically, with extreme sensitivity and calmness.”

“Yesterday the human aspect won, which is the most important thing, the human being was put before the event itself. It was the right thing to do. It’s never easy in those moments to make the right decisions, but respect prevailed and the fans were exemplary.”

“De Rossi and Cioffi also immediately spoke with the referee: Roma had asked to wait to understand the boy’s health conditions to understand whether to restart or suspend the match. As soon as they told us about the transport to hospital, De Rossi asked the boys if they felt like playing. The continuation of the match will be decided after Thursday’s Europa League match, we are available.”