Fran Ventoso was taken to hospital after a crash at Paris-Roubaix, suffering deep wounds to his leg reportedly caused by landing on a disc brake.
The Spaniard was flown back home on Tuesday after undergoing an operation to apply suture and drain on the wound, according to his Movistar team. They are hoping to regenerate the muscle tissue damage as quickly as possible.
When contacted by Cycling Weekly, Movistar were unable to confirm the cause of the injury, however directeur sportif García Acosta has since told El Periodico that the wound "was so deep that you could see the tibia.”
Spanish journalist Sergi Lopez-Egea of El Periodico tweeted on Sunday: "Fran Ventoso was injured by the disc brake of a rival in a crash and has been evacuated to hospital."
Two teams sent all their riders to Paris-Roubaix on disc brake-equipped bikes - Direct Energie and Lampre-Merida, on their new Merida Scultura bike.
Fran Ventoso at Paris-Roubaix (Sunada)
(Image credit: Yuzuru SUNADA)
Ventoso crashed at around the 140km mark, with medical staff wrapping the wound on his calf up and transporting him to hospital in Valenciennes.
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Ventoso tweeted on Monday: "I'm entering the operating room to fix my body. Thank you for all the encouragement."
Fellow Movistar rider Nelson Oliveira was also injured at Paris-Roubaix, falling on his left arm and shoulder after around 95km and subsequently fracturing his collardbone
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Stuart Clarke is a News Associates trained journalist who has worked for the likes of the British Olympic Associate, British Rowing and the England and Wales Cricket Board, and of course Cycling Weekly. His work at Cycling Weekly has focused upon professional racing, following the World Tour races and its characters.
