Thwaites undergoes back surgery after fracturing vertebrae
22 March 2018 09:57
Dimension Data rider Scott Thwaites has suffered ‘several fractures to his vertebral column’ following a training crash. In a statement released on the Dimension Data website, the team said that Thwaites had undergone successful surgery to stabilise the fractures on Tuesday night. He is in a stable condition and remains in hospital but is expected to be released in the coming days. The team gave no information as to the circumstances of the crash. Thwaites had recently competed at Milan-San Remo and was expected to be an important part of the team’s Classics line-up.ADVERTISEMENT Thwaites’ injury is another blow for Dimension Data, who have several riders out of action due to injury. Team leader Mark Cavendish broke a rib in a horrific crash during last weekend’s Milan-San Remo. The Manxman had already broken a rib when he crashed at speed during the opening team time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico. He also suffered concussion following a crash at the Abu Dhabi Tour when the race directors car braked suddenly ahead of the peloton. Bernhard Eisel is also out of competition at the moment after breaking his wrist and sustaining facial injuries in a crash at Tirreno-Adriatico. Reinardt Janse van Rensburg has not yet made his racing debut in 2018 following groin surgery at the end of last year. Although, the team hopes that he can return to competitive action next month. Mekseb Debesay took a heavy fall at the Tour de Langkawi earlier this week and further tests revealed that he had fractured his pelvis. Illness has also taken its toll with Tom-Jelte Slagter pulling out of Paris-Nice at the start of the month due to sickness. Mark Renshaw had to drop out of Tirreno-Adriatico due to sinusitis but returned to action at Milan-San Remo.
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