While his Rome team was playing on the Udinese pitch this Sunday late in the afternoon, Evan Ndicka suffered an illness in the 71st minute of play. The Franco-Ivorian central defender, winner of the last CAN with the Elephants, touched his chest twice before lying on the ground and being taken off the pitch on a stretcher. The Parisian by birth (24 years old) seemed conscious and gave a thumbs up with his left hand.
But as Chris Smalling prepared to come on to replace the former Auxerre and Frankfurt player, the match was stopped after a long exchange between the referee of the match and the two coaches, Daniele De Rossi and Gabriele Cioffi. The scoreboard showed 1-1 between the two teams. Pereyra opened the scoring in the 23rd minute of play before Lukaku equalized (64th) for the Roman club.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he was taken to hospital but never lost consciousness. Still according to the Italian media, Evan Ndicka’s condition would not have required the use of the defibrillator.
