Chris Froome pulls out of Vuelta a Espana after broken foot confirmed

Chris Froome has withdrawn from the Vuelta a Espana after a scan confirmed he broke his right foot in a crash on stage 11.

Initial X-rays on the injury on Wednesday night showed no fracture, but a subsequent MRI scan on Thursday morning revealed the break.

He announced his exit from the race by tweeting: "Scans this morning confirm fractured navicular. End of the Vuelta for me."

In a team statement, he added: "I'm really gutted to be leaving the race, but the injuries that I sustained on yesterday's stage were too much to continue.

"I hit my right side heavily and the main impact went on my right foot. I was desperate to dig in and finish the stage and my team-mates did brilliantly to get me through it, but as soon as I got off the bike, I couldn't put any weight on my right side.

"An MRI scan has shown that I have fractured navicular bone in my right foot, so now I'll work with our medical team on making a full recovery."

Froome crashed in the first few kilometres of stage 11, on the first of the day's six categorised climbs, and although he managed to reach the finish line, he lost 7min 25sec to new race leader Fabio Aru.

It is the second time in just over a year that Froome has crashed out of a grand tour, having left the 2014 Tour de France with a broken hand and wrist.

Froome had been attempting to become only the third rider in history to win the Tour and Vuelta in the same season and had been eighth overall, 1min 18sec adrift of the race lead, prior to his crash.

Team Sky doctor Inigo Sarriegui said: "Chris came off the bike right at the start of the stage yesterday. He went into the wall and developed pain after the first climb in his right foot. He couldn't put any pressure on it so he was basically cycling just with his left. 

"After the stage we did some examinations, which revealed he was very tender on his right foot around the navicular area. He had an X-ray, which didn't show up a fracture, but because he still couldn't weight-bear, we proceeded on to an MRI this morning, which confirmed there was a fracture.

"Chris will go home today and the next step will be to get a specialist opinion on further treatment."