Mickaël Bourgain, one third of France’s World team sprint championship winning team, is to undergo surgery on an injured shoulder, according to French sports daily l’Equipe. The sprinter, who was also the bronze medallist in the sprint at the Olympic games in Beijing, crashed during the Six Days of Grenoble and suffered ruptured ligaments and a shoulder separation.
The surgery puts an end to much of Bourgain’s 2009/10 track campaign as it rules him out of racing for the foreseeable future; the date of his return is currently uncertain.
“In choosing the operation, Mickaël played the card of assurance in the long-term,” said Bourgain’s coach Benoît Vêtu. The surgery means that Bourgain should return fully fit after his recovery, but his short-term targets are out of the question.
Bourgain will undergo the procedure in the Var, his home department on the Mediterranean coast of France, next week.