The Belgian, who crashed heavily last Saturday, will return on the bike next month.
Il Lombardia, the final Monument of the season, was also Laurens De Plus' last outing of 2017, but unfortunately for the 22-year-old, he didn't bow out as he had wanted, after crashing into a ravine off Muro di Sormano while chasing lone leader Mikael Cherel, some 45 kilometers from the finish.
The Belgian was immediately attented by the race doctors and taken to the Cantù hospital, where he was kept under observation for 24 hours before traveling to Herentals for further medical examinations, which revealed a small avulsion fracture of the lateral part of the tibial plateau on the right knee.
"I was afraid that my knee was severely damaged, but fortunately it isn't that bad. The doctors even told me that I've been really lucky with the outcome, as it could have been much worse. My thoughts are also with the other riders who've crashed there, I wish them all the best. It's not the best way to end the season, but I'm looking on the positive side, which is that we're in the off season now and I have time to recover before joining the team for the December training camp", said Laurens De Plus, who'll have to walk with crutches in the next two weeks, before observing four weeks of relative rest.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
