Primož Roglič returned to training on the road last week for the first time since he underwent shoulder surgery in mid-October. The Slovenian received bone graft surgery to address a longstanding shoulder problem which had been exacerbated by a series of crashes.
"I hope to gradually pick up my training again," Roglič told WielerFlits. "It is now eight weeks since the surgery on my shoulder. Every week it gets better, but a recovery like this needs time.
"They took part of my bone off and added it to the spot in the shoulder. The first period after the surgery, I could hardly move my arm. Now I still can't fully extend my arm."
Roglič abandoned this year’s Tour de France at the end of the second week after dislocating his shoulder in a crash on stage 5 to Arenberg. He had previously dislocated the shoulder in his crash on the final stage of Paris-Nice in 2021.
The Jumbo-Visma rider’s ill fortune continued at the Vuelta a España, where he abandoned the race after crashing in the finishing straight at Monasterio de Tentudía on stage 17. Roglič has not raced since and his shoulder was immobilised for eight weeks after his surgery.
"Luckily, I am not a swimmer, because an operation like this would have had a much greater impact," Roglič said. "Over the past few weeks, I've carefully started getting back on the exercise bike with occasional hour-long rides. Last week I had a scan, and the doctors gave me the green light to return to gentle outdoor cycling on the road."
Although Roglič is now back on the road, his rehabilitation from his surgery is still ongoing. He aims to attend in Jumbo-Visma’s training camp in Denia, Spain next week, though he acknowledged that he would be some way behind his teammates.
"My hope is that I can compete reasonably well again in January at the second training camp," said Roglič, who has yet to outline his race schedule for 2023.
Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard looks certain to return to defend his title in July, but it remains to be seen if a Giro d’Italia route with almost 70km of time trialling can convince Roglič to target the corsa rosa for the first time since he placed third overall in 2019.
Although Roglič rued the fact that he was compelled to spend almost three months off the bike this Autumn, he added that the break was not without its benefits.
"Because of that mandatory rest, I suddenly had a lot of time. I spent a lot of time with my foundation and setting up events for this charity," he said.
"In the end I now used the five to six hours in which I normally cycle every day for other purposes. And, of course, I also spent a lot of time with my family."
