John-Lee Augustyn has gone under the knife in Cape Town to fix a troublesome hip problem.
John-Lee in Cape Town for treatment
John-Lee Augustyn has gone under the knife in Cape Town to fix a troublesome hip problem.
The South African first damaged his femur in a crash at the 2007 Tour of Portugal, and has since developed a condition called avascular necrosis which restricts the flow of blood to the head of the bone, causing it to fragment.
Although the 24-year-old was able to take part in the team's winter training camp, the problem worsened during February and forced him to miss both the Ruta del Sol and Volta ao Algarve.
After consultation between the team's coaches and medical staff, the decision was taken for Augustyn to return home and address the problem once and for all.
Team Sky's doctor Richard Freeman explained: "It's a complication with John-Lee's previous injury that has caught up with him and needs to be fixed.
"It's one of those things that we feared could resurface eventually, and it did.
"We've sent him to see a surgeon called doctor Munting, who has developed a technique based on a procedure known as Birmingham hip resurfacing."
In basic terms, Birmingham hip resurfacing will see a metal cup replace the damaged surface of John-Lee's hip socket, and a cap will then be inserted to cover the ball-shaped head of his femur, allowing easier movement within the joint.
Although Dr Freeman could not yet predict a definitive time for Augustyn's return, he is confident the climbing specialist will soon be feeling stronger than ever.
He added: "He'll be back eventually, there's no doubt about that, and we'll have a much better idea of when that will be once the operation has been completed."
On the mend
Prior to the surgery, Augustyn explained his predicament to velonation.com: "My form was really good at our camp in January in Majorca and the data we collected during training was great.
"Sadly the pain in my leg returned last year so I just did stretches every day thinking it was just stiffness. I increased the stretches as the pain became more frequent, until the week leading up to Algarve when I knew something was seriously wrong."
It has yet to be determined whether Augustyn will remain in South Africa to recover from his surgery or return home to Italy, but he has been heartened by the team's support during the past few months and is raring to get back in action as soon as possible.
He added: "Everyone has been really supportive and in touch with me all the time. I will hope to get back to full recovery to repay them for their faith in me."
