Damien Touzé returned to Belgium following a horrendous 60 kph crash during stage 4 of the Tour of Oman, but the Cofidis racer said his career was now on hold and his season over as the battle to recover from his injuries continues.
Touzé, 29, suffered a perforated intestine, ripped spleen and broken knee in the crash and remained in hospital in Oman for 10 days before doctors decided the French pro had recovered enough to be put on a flight back to Europe. During that time, he’s had two operations and lost 10 kilos in weight.
“I even thought I might never make it home,” Touzé told Ouest-France on Wednesday from his hospital bed in Menen, Belgium.
A pro since 2017 in French teams throughout his career, first with the low-level HP BTP-Auber ’93 squad, and then as part of Cofidis, AG2R La Mondiale and then Cofidis again, Touzé said he had no idea what the future holds for him.
Presumably in a state of severe shock, the pain in his abdomen was “really bad”, he said. “But at first I didn’t realise how serious things were.”
Once in hospital in Oman, “Initially they didn’t realize that I had a hole in my intestine, so that’s what made my condition worse,” Touzé added.
With his issues in his abdomen only partly resolved, the doctors in Belgium had to operate on the injury, with Touzé explaining that after everything had been put back in place, he had a new wound that needed to heal.
Then there was his knee injury to handle as well. Touzé is still waiting to see how multiple torn ligaments will be treated, but it’s estimated that it’ll take anything up to eight months for him to recover fully.
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