Armstrong may still miss Giro after op
The seven-time Tour de France champion yesterday had successful surgery on the injury he suffered in a racing accident on Monday, crashing on stage one of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon.
Armstrong, 37, had a five-inch steel plate and 12 screws inserted in a effort to repair the collarbone, which broke in four places.
“Normally we see eight to 12 weeks for something like this to heal completely,” said Dr Doug Elenz, an Austin orthopaedic surgeon who frequently operates on athletes.
That time-frame would appear to put Armstrong’s appearance in the Giro D’Italia in real jeopardy — the start of the race is less than seven weeks away on May 9.
Dr Elenz stressed, though, that the estimation was for a complete mend, so the Astana rider is expected to be back on his bike sooner. He revealed yesterday he still hopes to ride the Giro, although he would surely not be competitive.
The doctor revealed Armstrong’s injury was more complex than first thought, the surgery taking almost three hours.
“If you had to pin me down, I’d say it was an eight,” he added on Astana’s official website when asked how difficult the surgery was on a scale of one to 10.
Armstrong has been advised to rest for a week before starting aerobic training on a stationary exercise bike and finally getting back on the road.
Dr Elenz said the progression of the cyclist’s recovery would be monitored, with focus on radiographic union (evidence of bone growth), a stable fracture with no plate movement, increased arm motion and fluidity, as well as Armstrong’s own pain factor.
A message on the Astana rider’s twitter feed yesterday confirmed the surgery went to plan.
It read: “All went well. Lance is in recovery. Same guy, just 12 screws in his collarbone.”
Astana general manager Johan Bruyneel reported: “Lance is out of surgery. It was a bit more complicated than initially thought, but everything went well.”
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