“It has been a huge process” – Michael Matthews reveals full extent of horror crash after multiple surgeries and brutal six-week recovery
Cycling
Michael Matthews’ 2026 season has taken a far more serious turn than first understood, with the Australian now detailing the full scale of the injuries sustained in his March training crash and the long road back that has followed.
Six weeks on from the incident that wiped out his Spring Classics campaign, the Team Jayco AlUla rider has revealed a catalogue of injuries and surgeries that underline just how significant the setback has been.
Multiple surgeries and severe injuries underline scale of setback
In an update shared via his team, Matthews explained the extent of the damage, moving beyond the initial reports of broken wrists to describe a far more complex medical situation. “On March 5, I had a bad accident in training,” he said. “I had an open fracture in my right arm, severed tendons in my thumb, and I broke my left wrist and thumb, so I had to undergo several operations.”
The treatment process itself stretched across multiple countries, highlighting both the urgency and severity of the injuries. “In Italy, I had surgery on my left arm straight away, and two days later I flew on to Belgium for surgery on the tendons in my right thumb,” Matthews continued. “On top of that, I also had a fractured eye socket. So it has been a huge process.”
The images released alongside the update, showing Matthews in hospital with both arms immobilised and visible facial injuries, reinforce the scale of the crash and the immediate aftermath he faced.
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Gradual recovery begins after complete shutdown
The early stages of recovery left Matthews almost entirely unable to train, a stark contrast to the condition he had built in the opening weeks of the season.
“We are now six weeks on, and fortunately I can move my fingers again,” he said. “It has taken a long time. For three weeks I couldn’t do any exercise at all, but after that I was able to start walking a little and go to the gym. Four weeks after my crash, I was allowed to start on the indoor trainer, and my body slowly started moving again. By now, I’ve been able to ride outside three times.”
That timeline illustrates the depth of the setback. What might initially have appeared as a race-ending injury for the spring has instead become a complete physical reset, with even basic movement only returning gradually over the past fortnight.
Matthews also acknowledged the volume of support received during that period, and the limitations imposed by his injuries. “I want to thank everyone for the messages I received. Because I couldn’t move my fingers for several weeks, I wasn’t able to reply to everyone. That made it difficult. But I have been thinking about your messages and about the support I received from the team.”
Michael Matthews at the 2025 Beking Criterium in Monaco
Perfectly timed form lost as season resets
Beyond the physical impact, the timing of the crash adds another layer of frustration to Matthews’ situation. The Australian had opened his 2026 campaign with a victory at Gran Premio Castellón and had completed a key training block aimed at the races that traditionally suit him best. “It has been a difficult period, because I crashed just as I had finished a big training block for the important races,” he concluded.
With Milano-Sanremo and the wider Spring Classics now long gone, Matthews’ season has effectively been split in two. The focus shifts away from early-year targets towards a longer-term rebuild, with any return to top-level competition dependent on how his recovery continues in the coming weeks.
For a rider at this stage of his career, the challenge is no longer simply regaining form, but rebuilding from a significant physical setback. The progress he has made in the past six weeks offers a starting point, but the road back to racing at the front remains uncertain.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
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santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
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