26 Mar 2009

Armstrong has operation

4:18 pm on 26 March 2009

Seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is recovering from surgery after having a stainless steel plate and 12 screws inserted to stabilise his fractured right collarbone.

The 37-year-old American broke his collarbone in four places during the first stage of Spain's Tour of Castilla earlier this week and returned to the United States to have surgery in Austin, Texas.

Although Armstrong's broken collarbone was more serious than initially suspected and required a "challenging" operation, his surgeon said he was confident the rider will be able to resume light training after about a week.

Armstrong, who returned to the sport this year after more than three years in retirement, is still hoping to make his first appearance in the Giro d'Italia in May before riding the Tour de France in July.