UAE Team Emirates sprinter Fernando Gaviria will be out of action for a month after fracturing his wrist in a crash at the E3 Saxo Bank Classic.
The Colombian was involved in a crash before the halfway point of Friday's race, hitting the ground with 118 kilometres to go. Afterwards, he could be seen holding his left wrist, and he was forced to abandon.
Later on Friday, Gaviria posted an X-ray of his injury to Instagram, while his team gave an update to his situation on Saturday morning.
"It's not the kind of photo I'd like to publish but it also forms part of cycling," Gaviria wrote, accompanying the X-ray which showed a small chip to his scaphoid.
"After a heavy knock in yesterday's E3 Saxo Bank Classic, it's confirmed that Fernando Gaviria sustained an avulsion fracture of the scaphoid which, although [it] should see him back to training very soon, will rule him out of racing for the next month or so," UAE Team Emirates confirmed.
Ineos Grenadiers rider Jhonatan Narváez suffered a wrist fracture in the same crash, too. The 24-year-old Ecuadorian's injury was confirmed by team directeur sportif Servais Knaven.
"We immediately realized that there was something serious wrong," he told Sporza. "Narváez does not give up too easily. He is mentally affected by this injury because he knows that his spring will end immediately because of that stupid fall."
It's not the first time Gaviria has injured his right hand. Back in March 2018, he fractured his first metacarpal bone in a crash on stage 7 of Tirreno-Adriatico, missing Milan-San Remo as a result. The plate and screws inserted to help with recovery from that injury can be seen in Gaviria's X-ray.
The scaphoid fracture continues what has been an unlucky few years for the 26-year-old. In 2019, he was forced to leave the Giro d'Italia after a week due to knee pain which hindered him for the remainder of the season.
Last year he was hospitalised for two weeks after catching COVID-19 at the UAE Tour. At October's Giro d'Italia, he tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time and left the race after struggling through the first two weeks.
Gaviria is due to return to the race, which kicks off in Turin, in May, though his build-up will now no doubt be compromised due to his latest injury setback.
