Highlights

Belgian top cyclist Brandt in coma after heavy fall

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-08-31 09:21

Belgian cyclist Christophe Brandt was brought into an artificial coma by doctors after falling badly during the Schaal Sel cycling race in Merxem in Belgium on Tuesday, local media reported on Wednesday.

Brandt, 29, collided with a traffic signpost during the road race and remained motionless on the ground.

He was rushed to the Jan Palfijn Hospital in Antwerp, where doctors removed a crushed kidney.

Doctors also diagnosed him with a four broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, a punctured lung and a broken arm, newspaper Het Gazet van Antwerpen reported.

When he arrived at the hospital, Brandt was in a life threatening condition because his body had gone into shock due to the heavy internal bleeding.

Doctors performed two operations on him on Tuesday and artificially brought him into a coma. He will be kept in a coma until the end of the week to protect his lungs.

Doctors warned that Brandt will have to undergo a long rehabilitation period.

Amid fears that the accident might mean the end of Brandt's cycling career, Davitamon team manager Marc Sergeant explained that he had been told by doctors that the removal of one kidney does not exclude doing sports again at a professional level.