Boonen X-rays show a fissure, sidelining him for ten days.
- By VeloNews.com
- Published Apr. 21, 2009
X-rays revealed Tuesday that Tom Boonen suffered a fissure in his right foot during a finish-line pileup at Scheldeprijs last week in Belgium.
Doctors ordered a 10-day rest for the recently crowned Paris-Roubaix champion, but Boonen’s injury couldn’t have come at a better time.
Considering that his first major goals of the season are already in the rear view mirror, Boonen could be philosophical about the setback.
“When these things happen, it’s always better to look on the bright side,” Boonen said in a team release. “Fortunately, we’re talking about a fissure. A fracture would have been more complicated. Furthermore, this accident came in the last race marking the end of the first part of my racing season, and the recovery time for the injury coincides with my period of rest from competition.”
A fissure is a groove or cleft in the bone, rather than a fracture, which is a full break of the bone.
Team officials said the injury will not affect Boonen’s preparation for the Tour de France, his next major goal on the 2009 season.
Boonen crashed heavily when Greg Avermaet (Silence-Lotto) and Robbie McEwen (Katusha) went down in the final 200 meters of the Scheldepris on April 15.
Alesssandro Petacchi (LPR) was ahead of the mayhem and won the race.