"Pretty good considering the circumstances," says Van Aert when asked about his current condition, in quotes collected by
In De Leidestrui. "That crash had a serious impact and I was in hospital for a while. Last week was not an easy week, in which I could hardly move my knee and had to lie on the couch a lot. I have been a bit more mobile for a few days now and I can at least walk again."
Although that does sound positive, a return to racing is still some time off. "I had a deep wound in my knee. That had to be stitched up, and the knee is in a difficult place. In order for that to heal properly, I couldn't start my leg for a long time. Furthermore, during additional examinations in Belgium we determined that there was also serious damage to the knee joint. A dent, as it were, on the side. That explained the great pain I had and why it was so difficult to support myself. But fortunately, it is an injury that will not hold me back, as soon as I get back on the bike," Van Aert explains.
"I have no concrete plans yet when I will be back on the bike, unfortunately. First I want to pick up normal life, then I can think about cycling again after that," he concludes. "There is no time pressure either, because the season is already over for me, unfortunately. I am already thinking about next year, but it is too early to talk about it concretely. The future will tell when I can return to competition, but if I will remember one thing from the Vuelta, it was that I was completely back and had found the legs again. This injury should not stop me from returning to that level."