“The doctor told me that the operation went well,” he told the daily Het Laatste Nieuws. “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 Cannibal, aged 79, admits “to having been afraid” at the time of his fall, the circumstances of which he recounted. “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,” said the five-time winner of the Tours of France and Italy.
Full recovery
Merckx will begin his rehabilitation 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.
The establishment explained that full recovery will take several months, but that the man with 525 victories could already get back on the bike in a few weeks. Eddy Merckx is considered the greatest champion in the history of cycling.
Swiss
