Tadej Pogačar's agent Johnny Carera out of coma after serious car crash

Johnny Carera, the manager of Tadej Pogačar and Vincenzo Nibali, is now out of a coma and breathing unassisted, after a serious traffic incident on November 26 where he collided with a lorry in his car.

The Swiss agent was returning home from a Fan Club party of pro rider Alessandro Covi when a lorry travelling the wrong way down the A4 motorway at Argate Brianza near Milan collided with him. 

The serious collision left Carera trapped in his car until emergency services managed to free him, before being taken to hospital with multiple injuries. 

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Carera was placed into an artificial coma at the intensive care unit in a Milan hospital, from which he has now awoken. He can now breathe by himself, no longer needing intubation. 

Alex Carera, Johnny's brother and joint-manager of the A&J All Sports agency, told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “Last Sunday he came out of a coma, and every day is getting better. In the meantime, he has been taken to the hospital in Cantù, because the hospital in Milan needed more places for corona patients.

“We just can't see him. Even his wife can't get in. But Johnny can read messages on his phone and make very short calls. That's how we communicate with him."

Johnny still has a broken shoulder, all his ribs are broken and his left lung has collapsed, meaning he will spend more time in hospital.

Alex continued, adding: “Every breath is painful, but his mind is clear. His voice is slowly coming back and he was also asking about work.

“But he doesn't remember anything about the accident. When he came out of a coma, he didn't know why he was in the hospital or what had happened.”

Johnny has since had contact with riders Vincenzo Nibali and Alessandro Covi, speaking to them on the phone from his hospital bed.