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Today will be D Day for Liquigas pro Magnus Backstedt who after visiting three specialists in a week, will undergo an operation to reconstruct his damaged shoulder.
Backstedt crashed a week ago when training on the track with fellow Swede Freddie Johansson.
20 year old Johansson spent five days in hospital before being released. He took his first ride on Friday only a week after the accident to show he is progressing well.
Big Maggy though has a severely separated shoulder. His orthopedic specialist explained the problem “The impact of the accident has caused the collarbone to become detached.
It is not only pointing up, but also back into the trapezius muscle”
On Monday a hook and a titanium plate will be screwed to the collarbone to re-set it.
Hopefully this will put the 2004 Paris Roubaix winner on his way to a successful 2007.
“This year has just been awful in terms of luck. I’m confident in the specialist who will carry out the operation. He expects me to be in sling for about six weeks, which for us bike riders means about four! He said with a smile “I will be back on the turbo trainer very quickly”.
At some point the plate will have to be removed, but this could be at the end of the 2007 season.
“I finished fourth at Roubaix in 2005 with a cracked bone in my wrist so this shouldn’t present too many problems.” concluded Backstedt, who is well known for high pain tolerance level.
