Mark Cavendish expects to need several weeks to get back on the bike after having surgery on his broken right collarbone.
Cavendish went under the knife on Wednesday after being forced out of what is due to be his final Tour de France following a crash on Saturday.
The 38-year-old Manxman said the operation had been more complicated than expected given he had dislodged some metalwork from a previous operation when he fell on his right shoulder during stage eight of the Tour.
“It obviously hasn’t been the ideal way to finish the Tour de France, but that’s part of the beauty and brutality of cycling!” Cavendish said in a social media post from hospital.
“But I’ve felt incredibly lifted thanks to all you beautiful souls living my journey with me.”
Cavendish announced in May his plan to retire at the end of this season, although he has been offered a contract extension by Astana-Qazaqstan in the wake of the crash, keeping alive the possibility of his taking outright the Tour de France stage win record he holds jointly with Eddy Merckx on 34.
Cavendish made no indication regarding his long-term plans, but his estimate regarding a possible return appeared to rule out the chance of him racing at the UCI World Championships next month, days after he was named in British Cycling’s long list for the event.
“It’ll take a bit longer than the standard couple of weeks for a collarbone, just due to the screws that were in there from a previous injury,” Cavendish said. “But we’re still only looking at a number of weeks, so happy days!
“Right then, time for rehab. Let’s get on with it!”
