Italy striker Ciro Immobile has been hospitalised with back and rib injuries after a road accident, his club side Lazio have confirmed.
Worrying reports, footage and images that emerged from the Italian press on Sunday morning suggested that Immobile had been travelling in Rome with his two daughters when their Land Rover SUV was hit by a tram at the junction between Piazza delle Cinque Giornate and Ponte Matteotti.
Immobile was taken to hospital for checks, with Lazio since confirming that their 33-year-old club captain suffered injuries to both his back and ribs and remained under observation.
“The medical staff of Lazio announces that, today, following a road accident, the footballer Ciro Immobile reported a sprain trauma of the spine and the compound fracture of the 11th right rib,” the club said in an official statement.
“Conditions are currently good. The player remains under observation at the department of emergency medicine directed by Professor Francesco Franceschi of the Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS in Rome.”
Immobile has been at Lazio since 2016, scoring 194 goals in 289 appearances including 12 across all competitions in 2022/23 so far.
He has struggled with injuries this term but returned after a month out for the last three matches, starting and scoring in the 3-0 victory for Maurizio Sarri’s second-place side over Serie A strugglers Spezia at the Stadio Alberto Picco on Friday night.
Immobile has also earned 55 international caps for Italy since his senior debut in 2014, scoring 15 times and forming a key part of the Azzurri side that won Euro 2020 at Wembley.
He is currently eighth on the list of Serie A’s all-time leading scorers with 191 goals in 313 outings, nearing the likes of Roberto Baggio and Antonio Di Natale.
Immobile is also a four-time winner of the annual Capocannoniere award for Serie A top scorer, a mark bested by only AC Milan legend Gunnar Nordahl, winning it most recently with Lazio last term.
