Two-time Grand Tour winner Egan Bernal is set for further spinal surgery as he recovers from a horror training crash in Colombia.
The 2019 Tour de France winner and 2021 Giro d’Italia champion remains in intensive care at the Clinica Universidad de La Sabana in Bogota after hitting a stationary bus at high speed while riding on his time trial bike on January 24.
Ineos Grenadiers rider Bernal suffered fractured vertebrae, broke his right femur, right patella and ribs, and also suffered chest trauma and a punctured lung in the incident.
In a post on his social media page, the 25-year-old had revealed how close he was to being left paraplegic, saying: “Having had a 95% chance of becoming a paraplegic and nearly losing my life doing what I love to do most, today I want to thank God.”
Following his initial emergency treatment, the Bogota hospital said Bernal was set to undergo more secondary procedures on his hand and mouth.
The statement added the Ineos Grenadiers rider was making good progress, having had medication used to treat low blood pressure withdrawn.
However, a subsequent update then confirmed new diagnostic imaging had revealed the need for a second operation on his spine, which will take place on Wednesday.
“This intervention will favour his process of rehabilitation,” the statement read.
“We advance with the patient in all his processes of recovery, confident of a swift improvement.”
