Primož Roglič still not back on his bike as shoulder rehab continues
The Slovenian is unlikely to be back training before December.
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Primož Roglič says he may have to wait until December before he’s back on his bike after the shoulder injury he suffered in his Vuelta a España crash required surgery and a lengthy period of rehabilitation.
“Rehabilitation is going according to plan. I can move the shoulder a bit again, although I may have to wait another month before I can cycle again,” the Slovenian said in a social media update on his condition. “However, I am currently also busy with other projects.” Roglič cites his foundation that he set up to help young cyclists as something he’s been passing the time with while unable to train.
Roglič had surgery on his shoulder only a month ago in Slovenia. “That shoulder needs to be repaired,” he told Slovenian radio station Val 202 before the surgery. “It’s no secret that I’ve dislocated my shoulder several times. It’s not nothing that’s going to happen. They cut off a piece of the bone and moved it to where the shoulder dislocated.”
The 33-year-old crashed out of two Grand Tours in 2022, although at the Tour de France he battled on through the pain of a crash on the cobbled Roubaix stage to help Jonas Vingegaard take yellow before the abandoning the race before the start of stage 15. He then lined up at the Vuelta a España for another redemption tour of Spain but crashed hard in a reduced sprint on stage 16. Roglič didn’t sustain any fractures but suffered contusions and heavy road rash, as well as losing a not insignificant amount of blood from a cut to his elbow.
Roglič later issued a bizarre war of words against Fred Wright, blaming the Brit for a crash but the general consensus was that it was the fault of the Slovenian.
Roglič’s injury travails are nothing new, however, having bounced back from a crash at the 2021 Tour de France to win the overall titles of both Paris-Nice and the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2022. However, in between this year’s Tour and Vuelta crashes, Roglič’s doctor said the injuries he had already suffered before the Spanish Grand Tour were more complicated than in previous years, accusing Jumbo-Visma of putting team success ahead of the health of riders.
It is currently unknown how much this lengthy rehabilitation and delay to resuming training will impact Roglič’s preparation for 2023, a pivotal season for him. It will be one in which he will face a huge task in putting himself back into first place in the GC pecking order at Jumbo-Visma over Vingegaard – the Dane who finally delivered a yellow jersey for the Dutch team and successfully vanquished Tadej Pogačar.