While Tadej Pogacar awaits the day and time to undergo surgery, the UAE Emirates, his team, revealed the main reason why he crashed and had to withdraw from the Vuelta a España last Saturday.
Pogacar left the race and has a displaced fracture of the left clavicle, so he will have to undergo surgery, his team announced.
(Tadej Pogacar reappears after his wild crash in the Vuelta a España: first image of his impressive injuries)
UAE reveals the main reason why Tadej Pogacar had that violent crash in the Vuelta a España
The UAE Team Emirates formation does not provide an estimated recovery time, but this damage assessment seems to rule out that he can defend his world title at the end of September in Canada.
“His condition is stable. After a thorough medical examination at the hospital, Tadej was diagnosed with a concussion, displaced fracture of the left clavicle, stable fracture of the cervical vertebra C7 and multiple abrasions,” UAE stated in its text.
He was drinking
Meanwhile, Joxean Fernández, known as Matxín, one of the leading men of the Arab team, revealed the cause why his rider could not avoid the crash.
“I was with Tadej at the hospital and he didn’t really know what it was either. It is true that he was drinking at that moment and it seems he stepped on, we don’t know if it was a stone or a camera, as they say. I don’t know. It’s a stone in the road, like life itself; these problems have to be solved,” he said.
“I want to remember the riders who believed, who suffered, who I have seen devastated and who at these moments need support. They have behaved excellently with Tadej, we have been competitive and, from now on, we have to be with them and overcome,” said Matxín.
“Imagine when someone is the leader of the Vuelta a España, he could fight to win this race, he was, athletically, in a position to dominate this race and a stone in the road changes everything. We have to analyze, after the operation, how he is, how his recovery and rehabilitation can be, and draw conclusions. Right now is not the time to say if his season is over,” he concluded.
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