Lecce midfielder Manuel Scavone appears to be out of danger following a head injury that forced his side's Serie B match with Ascoli to be abandoned in the opening seconds.
The 31-year-old, on loan from Parma, collided with Ascoli's Giacomo Beretta when jumping for a high ball after the start of Friday's game and hit his head on the pitch as he landed heavily.
Scavone received urgent treatment on the pitch before players moved advertising boards to allow an ambulance to take him to the Vito Fazzi hospital.
The game was called off and will be rescheduled at a later date.
On Saturday, Lecce released a picture of Scavone awake and smiling in a hospital bed while being visited by Beretta. Ascoli club manager Francesco Lillo and Lecce general director Giuseppe Mercadante also went to see him, the club said.
Beretta fa visita a #Scavone #ForzaManuel http://bit.ly/2WEeoAm
Posted by U.S. Lecce on Saturday, 2 February 2019
Giuseppe Palaia, who is in charge of Lecce's medical services and treated Scavone on the pitch, told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he had "joked" on the phone with the player on Saturday and consulted doctors at the hospital.
He said Scavone "could leave hospital in the next few hours".
Lecce released a statement on Saturday to clarify that they had followed proper practice by stabilising Scavone before sending him to hospital, after some concerns were raised on social media about the length of time it took for the ambulance to attend.
