Algemeen Medical update from Małecki, Drizners, Frison, De Buyst and Verschaeve

Since the beginning of the season, Lotto Soudal has had its share of bad luck. Kamil MaÅ‚ecki, Jarrad Drizners, Frederik Frison, Jasper De Buyst and Viktor Verschaeve are not able to race but working hard to return in the peloton as soon as possible. Xandres Vervloesem will return this weekend in Rund um Köln.

Kamil Małecki had a knee surgery two months ago and has been working on his comeback since then. It was a difficult rehabilitation, with multiple setbacks, but things are moving in the right direction now. We hope we can have Kamil back racing in two months.

MaÅ‚ecki: “I have spent almost two months training in the gym. It was difficult at times, but I am so happy that I could start training on the bike again.”

Jarrad Drizners has come a long way since his crash in the UAE Tour. He had surgery on his abdomen twice before he could travel back to Europe. Our doctors are awaiting a final checkup before giving him the green light to start more intense training on the bike.

Drizners: “I have been working very hard on my comeback with the physio and feel a lot better already. For the last two weeks I have been able to ride my bike again. It feels so good.”

Frederik Frison broke his collarbone during Dwars door Vlaanderen and was working on his comeback in Andorra last week, when he collided with a car coming out of a driveway and crashed. He got out of the crash with a broken rib and a collapsed lung. Normally, Frederik can pin up a number again in the month of June.

Frison: “I am feeling a lot better already. My lung has recovered well, but the rib will remain painful for a while. The most important thing, however, is that I will be able to train with it.”

Jasper De Buyst crashed in the final stage of the Tour of Turkey that was cancelled in the end. He broke his collarbone, but a couple of weeks later it turned out he also had a fracture in the hip joint. If all goes as planned, we will have him back in a race during the month of June.

De Buyst: “Of course, it was a setback to hear that I had also broken my hip joint, but right now I am working on my rehabilitation very hard. I can ride my bike and train in the swimming pool and am eager to come back as soon as possible.”

Viktor Verschaeve has been suffering from a nerve clamping in his leg for over a year. He had surgery on it last week and has to recover now. His comeback is planned for July.

Verschaeve: “The surgery was successful and for the moment I can only wait in my sofa for my body to recover.”

Xandres Vervloesem has been unable to race since GP Monseré. The 22-year-old has been working hard on his comeback and will return this weekend in Rund um Köln.

Vervloesem: “I am so happy to be able to race again and really looking forward to this weekend.”