On the day that he celebrates his 35th birthday, there was some good news for Tom Boonen, as he been told that he can fly home to Belgium from Abu Dhabi, after a CT scan check-up this morning.
The Belgian rider had crashed heavily on Stage 2 of the Abu Dhabi Tour. He hit his head and suffered a temporal bone fracture in the crash. Earlier this week, there had been fears that it may take Boonen six months to recover from his injuries, but Boonen is more optimistic.
“The doctors speak of six months of doing nothing, for safety. But I believe it is more like a month,” Sporza reported Boonen as saying . “That’s about the time that a break needs to recover. They are especially afraid of the trauma, but when I’m back in Belgium, I will be examined thoroughly once more.”
The Belgian rider’s partner Lore had flown out to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, and they will stay in Abu Dhabi for a few days before returning to Europe.
“Tom’s situation is evolving as we expected,” said Team Doctor Yvan Vanmol. “Once he gets back to Belgium, Tom will have to observe a few weeks of rest, after which we can begin to plan for the 2016 season.”
Get on the bike when your ready Tom