{"id":2119983,"date":"2026-08-30T23:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T20:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2119983"},"modified":"2026-08-30T23:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T20:37:09","slug":"doctor-advises-caution-about-any-premature-return-for-pogacar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2119983","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Advises Caution about Any Premature Return for Poga\u010dar"},"content":{"rendered":"
Tadej Poga\u010dar suffered a non-displaced fractured C7 vertebra in his neck in Saturday\u2019s crash at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, but his agent is floating the possibility of him being back in action in four week\u2019s time.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when the world road race championships takes place, with Poga\u010dar the winner of the past two editions.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetween tomorrow and the day after, \u2018Pogi\u2019 will be taken to Barcelona and operated on there,\u201d Alex Carera told Quibicisport on Friday evening. \u201cTherefore, only after the surgery is complete will we know exactly how long he\u2019ll be recovering from and, therefore, whether he\u2019ll be able to make it to the World Cup [championships \u2013 ed.] or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Poga\u010dar set the worlds as one of his top season goals, and was also intending on chasing victory in the following week\u2019s European championships, and then Il Lombardia.<\/p>\n
He is also the defending champion for both of those races.<\/p>\n
Fans of the rider will take encouragement from Carera\u2019s statement which suggests it is still a possibility that his star rider could be in action again this season.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf we get encouraging news from Barcelona and from the surgery to which Pogi will be subjected, his presence in a competition between the worlds, the Europeans or Lombardy might not be compromised,\u201d he said. \u201cIn short, we cross our fingers and wait for the next updates.\u201d<\/p>\n
However a medical expert is warning that things could go seriously wrong for the rider if he returns too soon.<\/p>\n
\u2018You could risk being paralyzed\u2019<\/h2>\nTadej Poga\u010dar led the general classification but also topped the points ranking at times (Photo: Jose Jordan \/ AFP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Tom Teulingkx is a Belgian sports doctor who has worked with elite athletes and Olympic teams. He worked at the mountain bike world championships this weekend and has considerable experience of sport and the injuries related to it.<\/p>\n
Speaking to HLN, he commented on Poga\u010dar\u2019s crash and specifically about the neck fracture that he suffered.<\/p>\n
He formed his opinion based on the medical update the UAE Emirates-XRG team doctor released on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vertebral body C7 is just below the neck,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt consists of a piece of bone with a hole through which a nerve bundle runs, but there are many protrusions to protect the neck vertebra in a fall. If such a protrusion breaks down, it is less severe than if the vertebra itself breaks completely.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFalling is never fun, but it can always be worse. Poga\u010dar wouldn\u2019t be the first athlete to suffer permanent damage to a cervical vertebra and a complete spinal cord injury from a very stupid and maybe even less serious fall. Then that bundle of nerves is cut, and you\u2019re paralyzed in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. [Triathlete] Marc Herremans is one of the most well-known athletes to have experienced that.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Poga\u010dar avoided such an outcome, Teulingkx is clear that a premature return to competition carries with it very large risks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat cervical vertebra fracture really needs to heal properly before he can get back in action,\u201d he said. \u201cI think caution is warranted. If you fall again on a damaged vertebra, those protective projections could break and you could risk being paralyzed for the rest of your life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be a shame if a rider is maybe rushed back too soon and then can\u2019t really play sports for the rest of his career.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Other factors to bear in mind<\/h2>\nWithdrawing from the Vuelta after such good form is a blow to Poga\u010dar (Photo: Jose Jordan \/ AFP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The fracture to his C7 vertebra wasn\u2019t the only injury Poga\u010dar suffered in his fall.<\/p>\n
He also hit his head, suffering concussion, and fractured his collarbone.<\/p>\n
That further complicates things and Teulingkx points out that these factors must be considered and respected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recovery period also depends on the other injuries. A collarbone fracture can be surgically fixed, but it takes a few weeks,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s a concussion. Apparently he wasn\u2019t unconscious and got into the ambulance on his own. So that might be okay.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut even with a concussion, you have to be very careful not to return to sports too early, or it can cause problems for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Athletes are very driven people. They often push things in terms of trying to return to training and racing as soon as possible after illness or injury.<\/p>\n
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Poga\u010dar wants to defend his worlds, Europeans and Il Lombardia titles, while those around him also want him to succeed.<\/p>\n
However Teulingkx and others will hope that such motivations will be counterbalanced by caution. Even if he gets to a point where he can ride again soon, what would happen if he fell again?<\/p>\n
The first of those targets is the worlds in four weeks\u2019 time. Teulingkx points out that the kind of neck fracture Poga\u010dar suffered takes between three and six weeks to heal, with that time influenced by the severity of the injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these injuries make it very difficult to do sports over the next three to four weeks, let alone at a high level. It\u2019s the end of August. The season is almost over. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Pogacar doesn\u2019t compete again this year. But a lot depends on his medical report and recovery, the details of which we don\u2019t know at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He will hope that caution is shown and that that undue risks are avoided.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to have more respect for such incidents and give elite athletes time to recover mentally and physically,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2292321475.jpg”] Shane Stokes Updated August 30, 2026 05:48PM Tadej Poga\u010dar suffered a non-displaced fractured C7 vertebra in his neck in Saturday\u2019s crash at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, but his agent is floating the possibility of him being back in action in four week\u2019s time. That\u2019s when the world road race championships takes place, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2119983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2119983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2119983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2119983\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2119983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2119983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2119983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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