Steven Kruijswijk recovering from Tour injuries at home, however with no plan to return to competition

Steven Kruijswijk is not unfamiliar to badly timed injuries, and this Tour de France's damage has seen him with a broken collarbone and shoulder blade, aswell as a dislocated shoulder when he went down en route to Carcassonne. 

“After the fatal fall, they immediately operated on my broken collarbone and my dislocated shoulder," Kruijswijk told NOS. "Further research, the next day in the Netherlands, has shown that an operation on my broken shoulder blade is not necessary. It will heal on its own.”

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The Dutchman crashed during stage 15 of the Tour, suffering injuries that forced him to abandon the race whilst sitting in the Top15. However, it was the support that he was providing for Jonas Vingegaard that was crucial, which left Jumbo-Visma down to six riders as Primoz Roglic had also abandoned the race in the same day.

“Thank you to everyone involved and for your support! Now it is time to support the boys from before the television," he urged. "The shoulder did not require further surgery, which is positive. Surgery and cutting in the body is never beneficial. It's better if it heals naturally. And the doctors were positive about that.”

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The final week would again be crucial for Kruijswijk's role within the team, however he will have to sit out of competition for an undefined period of time. “I have put this season out of my mind," he said. 

"That last week was going to be important. I noticed in the Alps that I was at the level I had in mind. It all looked good. Then you don't think that you will go down in such a ride and that this will happen," he concluded.