Egan Bernal underwent complicated spinal surgery in his native Colombia, following a horror crash at the weekend.
The 2019 Tour de France winner suffered multiple injuries having crashed into the back of a bus while on a training ride in Cudinamarca. A photograph shared on social media showed a huge dent left in the back of the bus from the collision.
Bernal was taken to the Clinica Universidad de La Sabana hospital in Bogota, with his INEOS Grenadiers team revealing he'd suffered "a fractured vertebrae, a fractured right femur, a fractured right patella, chest trauma, a punctured lung and several fractured ribs".
Egan Bernal sufrió un accidente mientras entrenaba, chocó con un bus, noticia en desarrollo... pic.twitter.com/7tMQ21e1DZ
— Chasqui Deportivo (@chasquidep) January 24, 2022
Last year's Giro D'Italia winner underwent successful spinal surgery, according to the hospital, preserving neurological function.
"The neurosurgery team carried out a reduction of a displaced fracture from the T5 [vertebra] to the T6 [vertebra] with a traumatic herniated disc," read a statement, translated by CyclingNews.
"Under constant monitoring for nervous system activity, a tool was put in place from the T3 to the T8, maintaining neurological integrity and conserving the functionality of the segments involved."
On Tuesday afternoon, the hospital added that Bernal was in their intensive care unit, with the hope he can be awakened "little by little".
The hospital's general director, Juan Guillermo Ortiz Martinez added, "In the next few days, the risk of infection and pulmonary contusion will be managed, in order to achieve better stability for the patient."
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