Moscow - A least five Russian ice hockey players under the age of 20 suffer from serious heart problems and will have to see cardiologists to undergo further investigation, tests have revealed.

The tests were carried out on around 70 players following the death on October 13 of 19-year-old professional Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey federation spokesman Nikolai Durmanov told the Nesavissimaya Gazeta newspaper.

Cherepanov played with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and collapsed while on the bench during a game against Vityaz Chekhov. He died later in hospital. (dpa)