Racing

Luke Rowe faces up to a year out after breaking leg on brother’s stag do

Team Sky's Welsh ace suffers fractured tibia and fibula on white water rafting trip

Team Sky’s Luke Rowe faces a lengthy injury lay-off after breaking his leg on his brother’s stag do.

Rowe, 27, who finished as lanterne rouge at the Tour de France as he helped Chris Froome claim his fourth overall victory, suffered the injury while white water rafting.

Rowe was celebrating his brother Matt’s stag do, ahead of his marriage to London 2012 gold medallist Dani King.

And the Welsh rider could face a year off the bike having fractured his tibia and fibula after landing awkwardly as he jumped into shallow water.

Luke Rowe faces a year off the bike after breaking his leg on his brother Matt’s stag do (Pic: Alex Whitehead/SWPix.com)

“On the first morning we went whitewater rafting,” he explained. “I jumped down into the water but landed in a shallow section on my right leg.

“Being a bike rider you get in a lot of scrapes and you get used to injuries, but I knew straight away that it was a bad one.

“The team have been brilliant. Dr Usher came out straight away to oversee my treatment and to get me back home, where I’ve seen the specialists and had surgery.

“It’s been a big shock and I know I’ve got a long period of recovery ahead.”

Rowe confirmed in an interview with BBC Sport that his multiple fractures – which left his foot ‘hanging limp’ – could see him out for a year, with doctors telling him to take it ‘operation by operation, scan by scan’.

And Team Sky coach Rod Ellingworth added: “Obviously it’s a serious injury and so Luke’s going to be off the bike for a while.

“An injury like this is a test of character for anyone, but character is something Luke has plenty of.

“He’s a really important part of our team and, as a team, we’ll be right behind him throughout his recovery.”

Rowe has become an integral part of Chris Froome’s Tour de France squad, as well as establishing himself as a strong Classics contender (Pic: Alex Broadway/SWPix.com/ASO)

Rowe is contracted with Team Sky until 2018, having established himself as a leading Classics rider and key part of their Tour de France squad in recent years.

Earlier this year he grabbed his second pro win on stage two of the Herald Sun Tour, some four-and-a-half years after his first victory at the Tour of Britain.

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