Egan Bernal, winner of the 2019 Tour de France, will undergo a second spine surgery Feb. 2, nine days after he was rushed to hospital following a high-speed collision with a parked bus while training, according to Cycling News.
On Jan. 24, surgeons at Clínica Universidad de La Sabana in Cundinamarca, Colombia, operated on Mr. Bernal to stabilize fractures in his thoracic spine as well as other procedures to address fractures to his femur, kneecap and ribs, along with a collapsed lung.
Mr. Bernal, who rides for the Ineos Grenadiers team, had been recovering well but tests Feb. 1 indicated the need for a cervical spine surgery, according to the hospital.
"After advancing the recovery of the systems involved in his polytrauma (musculoskeletal, respiratory, hemodynamic nervous), new diagnostic imaging was carried out and it was determined, on an interdisciplinary basis, that he will be submitted to an operation at the level of the cervical spine," the hospital said in a statement.
The hospital said it believes the second spine surgery will "favor his process of rehabilitation" and will provide an update on Mr. Bernal's status after the procedure, according to the report.