Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) has undergone successful surgery near his home in Monaco after the rider's knee became infected following his Tour de France abandon.
The three-time world champion crashed on stage 3 and left the race ahead of stage 12 to Nîmes. His knee was injured after it was hit by a chainring during the crash.
"First of all, I'd like to thank the Bora-Hansgrohe management, the team's doctors, and in particular our Head Doctor, Christopher Edler, for their support and guidance since my crash on stage 3," Sagan said in a statement released by his team on Monday's second rest day at the Tour de France.
"Secondly, I'm so grateful for all the get-well messages that I received from my teammates, friends, and fans from all over the world. They are greatly appreciated. On stage 3, the chainring hit my knee and entered the skin above the patella, leaving a deep wound.
"We cleaned the wound as much as possible to prevent infection because of the dirt from the chain oil. However, after a few days, an inflammation developed in the bursa on top of the patella, and, unfortunately, I had to abandon the Tour.
"Also, I'd like to thank the doctors and medical staff at IM2S clinic in Monaco for performing an excellent surgery on such short notice and for their great cooperation with the team's medical staff. I already feel a lot better and everything looks good so far."
Sagan came into the Tour de France hunting a thirteenth stage win and eight green jersey but he was never able to achieve other of those ambitions following his crash involving Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) on stage 3. The pair collided with the finish line in sight and while Sagan was able to finish the stage Ewan was forced to lean in an ambulance.
Sagan would go on to finish fifth the next day into Fougères and pick up another top-five on stage 6 to Châteauroux, but following an eighth-placed finish on stage 10 to Valence, it was clear that the Bora-hansgrohe rider was below his very best following his stage victory and points classification at the Giro d’Italia in May.
It was expected that the 31-year-old simply needed time on the sidelines in order to recover for the second half of the season, but the team’s head of medical, Christopher Edler, explained why action was required and surgery became a necessity.
"We did everything possible on site at the Tour but even antibiotic treatment couldn’t prevent an infection,” Edler said.
"The only option was to stop racing and get the bursa surgically removed. Luckily it was only superficial infection, and the knee joint is not involved in this at all. The surgery went well, and I think Peter will be able to start with light training again in a couple of days."
