Egan Bernal confirms extensive list of injuries including 'almost 20 broken bones' as he declares 'I'm back!'
The Colombian remains in hospital after the completion of his final major surgery
Egan Bernal has listed all the injuries he suffered in last week's collision with a bus in Colombia, writing on his Instagram that he has now had his last major surgery.
The Ineos Grenadiers rider underwent his seventh surgery on Wednesday, the latest one taking place on his cervical vertebrae.
Doctors have previously confirmed that despite having a chance of being 95 percent paraplegic in the immediate aftermath of the incident, Bernal has not suffered any spinal cord damage and his mobility will not be affected.
Updating his social media followers, Bernal wrote that he suffered "almost 20 broken bones" as well as both his lungs collapsing; it had previously been reported that the 25-year-old suffered just one punctured lung.
He listed his breaks as 11 ribs, one femur, a kneecap, T5 and T6 vertebrae, C2 vertebrae, a metacarpal, and one broken thumb. He also revealed that he lost one tooth in the accident.
The reigning Giro d'Italia winner added: "I almost killed myself, but do you know what? I am grateful to God for putting me through this test.
"This is the toughest race, but I have had a group of excellent people around me.
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"Yesterday I had my last major surgery and everything seems to have gone well.
"So now to recovery and to doing it again. I'm back!! And let's rock."
Una publicación compartida de Egan Bernal (@eganbernal)
A photo posted by on
It is just the second time that Bernal has taken to social media since the incident, with him revealing last Friday the fears among the medical staff of him being paraplegic.
Since then he has undergone multiple surgeries, has been fed through nutritional aid but has pleased doctors with his "excellent" recovery. He has also avoided infection.
The 2019 Tour de France champion remains at the Clinica Universidad de La Sabana hospital in his home country, and no update has been released if he remains in intensive care or not.
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A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and long reads across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013. In 2024 he released a seven-part podcast documentary, Ghost in the Machine, about motor doping in cycling.
Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains. He lives in Valencia, Spain.
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