“I was scared”: cycling legend Eddy Merckx, victim of a bike fall, underwent successful hip surgery

“I was scared”: cycling legend Eddy Merckx, victim of a bike fall, underwent successful hip surgery
“I was scared”: cycling legend Eddy Merckx, victim of a bike fall, underwent successful hip surgery

The former Belgian cycling champion Eddy Merckx, victim of a heavy fall while cycling Monday in Belgium, was successfully operated on for a hip fracture. “The doctor told me the operation went well“, he declared Tuesday to the daily The Latest News. “They put a new hip on me. The pain isn’t too bad at the moment. Monday it was huge, but with the operation it’s better.”

The five-time winner of the Tour de even joked about falling of which he was a victim: “From now on, I will drive with two small training wheels”he added.

“I couldn’t stand up.”

The “Cannibal”, 79, concedes “to have been afraid” at the time of his fall, which he recounted the circumstances. “On the railway track in Hombeek (near Mechelen), my rear wheel suddenly slipped. I fell on my hip and could not get up. Fortunately, some passers-by were there. Otherwise it would have been a disaster. J ‘I was scared, yes’he explained.

Eddy Merckx will begin his rehabilitation from this Wednesday “with the possibility of immediately placing the entire weight of the body on the operated leg”announced the Herentals hospital in a press release. “To treat this injury, a total hip prosthesis was placed on Tuesday afternoon by Dr. Mike Tengrootenhuysen and Professor Steven Claes. The operation went smoothly, and a full recovery is expected.”added the hospital.

Last April, Eddy Merckx had emergency surgery for an intestinal obstruction and in the fall of 2019, he had already suffered a heavy fall which forced him to spend several days in hospital.

This time his full recovery will take several months but he has a good chance of being able to get back on the bike in the coming weeks, according to the Herentals hospital.

Senegal

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