Pic ⓒ Elizabeth Kreutz

News of Lance Armstrong’s injury spread quickly through the internet but the extent of his broken collarbone has now been revealed, following a successful procedure yesterday.

Undergoing surgery, what the doctors originally thought was a “simple” fracture of his clavicle (more commonly referred to as the collarbone), was in fact broken into four pieces.

Dr. Doug Elenz, an Austin orthopedic surgeon who frequently operates on athletes and carried out the surgery, said: “It was not in two, but four pieces.”

A 5in stainless steel plate and 12 screws were used to repair the fractured collarbone which, says Dr. Elenz, is more than would normally be used.

It’ll be a short while before Armstrong can resume training. Following a week of rest, the Texan will be allowed to ride on a stationary exercise bike. “Normally we see 8-12 weeks for something like this to heal completely,” says Dr. Elenz, stressing the word “completely”.

He went on to say that it would be a day-by-day, week-by-week, and month-by-month progression as they first looked for radiographic union , a stable fracture with no plate movement, increased arm motion and fluidity, and Armstrong’s own pain factor.

Armstrong updated his Twitter followers saying: “Howdy folks. Made it thru. Took longer than we thought. Playing with my kids right. Making me feel A LOT better.”