Bogotá (AP) – After his serious training accident and another operation on his spine, former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal reported from the hospital a second time.
“Nearly 20 broken bones…” read a post on Bernals’ Instagram account. “11 ribs. Femur. Patella. T5-T6. Part of second cervical vertebra. Metacarpal bone. One thumb. I knocked out a tooth. Perforation of both lungs.”
In one photo, professional cyclist Bernal could be seen in a hospital bed with a neck brace, bandages and tubes. “I almost died, but you know what?” He was “thank God that he made this test possible for me. It’s the toughest race, but I had a great group of people around me.” It looks like everything went well with the last major operation. “Well, now it’s time to relax and turn it into another I’M BACK!!!”
Bernal had another operation on Wednesday. “The goals of biomechanical stability of the cervical spine were achieved with excellent clinical results,” said the 13th statement from the La Sabana University Hospital near Bogotá. Bernal has been treated there since Monday last week.
According to consistent media reports, the 25-year-old crashed into a stationary bus on his time trial bike. He underwent multiple surgeries and was scheduled to stay in intensive care for at least three days. In a dramatic tweet he expressed himself for the first time. According to this, he had a 95 percent chance of becoming a paraplegic and almost losing his life.