Primož Roglič has said that he suffered a lower back fracture in the crash that forced him out of the Tour de France.
Roglič revealed the extent of his injuries in an Instagram post on Tuesday evening and explained that he had been undergoing rehab at the Red Bull performance centre in Austria.
"Life is not the easiest sometimes," he wrote. "Further examinations after the [Tour de France] crash showed a nondisplaced lwk3 fracture of processus transversus in the lower back so last week I was recovering at Red Bull Athlete Performance Center, where they were taking the best care of me...
"I’m slowly getting back on the bike and taking my time to recover and will see where this takes us… In this time I realised, once again, that I have the best fans In the world. Thank you."
The Slovenian was expected to start the Vuelta a España on August 17, but the extent of his injuries will put his participation in doubt.
Roglič crashed on stage 12 of the Tour on the road to Villeneuve-sur-Lot. Despite the efforts of his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team-mates, he was unable to rejoin the peloton and lost time. He later abandoned the race after being examined by team doctors.
At the time he pulled out, Roglič was fourth in the general classification, 2:15 down on eventual Tour winner Tadej Pogačar. It had been hoped that he would challenge for overall victory in France.
The Slovenian is a three-time former winner of the Vuelta a España, and reports had suggested that he would take to the start line once more in August. However, Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe boss Ralph Denk recently said on the Inside Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe podcast that nothing had been confirmed yet.
Cycling Weekly contacted the team on Wednesday to ask about Roglič’s plans for the rest of the season but did not hear back at the time of publication.
"Primož is currently only training a bit on the indoor trainer, I don't think it's clear yet whether he will participate in the Vuelta," Denk said on the podcast.
The Vuelta will start in Lisbon, Portugal on 17 August before concluding in Madrid on 8 September.
