Andy Schleck gets back on a bike
Injured RadioShack-Nissan rider's recovery slower than hoped
RadioShack-Nissan's Andy Schleck has returned from Basel, Switzerland, where he underwent a new series of clinical examinations and a MRI scan to establish the condition of his injury following the fracture of his sacrum during his crash in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Team doctor Andreas Gösele said, "Andy still experiences pain, so a new examination was necessary. The MRI scan showed clear signs of a good healing, but the fracture is not fully healed yet. This makes us feel optimistic that with some minor modifications of his bike position, temporary of course, he can now look at being a pro cyclist again and train like his colleagues soon."
"I went on my bike for the first time three weeks after the crash, but it had to step off almost immediately," said Schleck. "The recovery is not going as fast as I had hoped for, but the examinations of yesterday have shown that it's going in the right direction."
"I have been doing quite a lot of alternative sports, mainly swimming. Basically everything I can do without pain was good. I didn't want to believe that my season had come to full stop in that crash."
Team Manager Johan Bruyneel said, "We have looked into a slightly different bike position for Andy now. The handle bar is basically positioned higher, so there's less pressure on the hip. The level of pain involved will determine how much work load he can take, but one thing is clear: the healing is priority number one and we'll adapt his schedule to that. We're very confident that Andy will return to racing in the course of the current season, but it's unclear when and where. The only certainty seems his absence from the Olympics, because they really come too early."
Schleck said he still has some pain in his new position, but it's good enough. "We'll now have to see how the healing goes, but I can't wait for the day that I can race again. It's too early to make concrete plans for my return to competition, but I'm hopeful that I can still make something of my season."
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