Chris Froome asked the cycling community not to speculate on the extent of Egan Bernal's injuries after he suffered life-threatening injuries in a collision with a bus last Monday, or when he will return to racing at the highest level as he recovers in the hospital. debilitating crash in 2019. Having been hit, Froome said the community can only offer support to Bernal and his family at this time.

"Before I sign off on this episode, I want to touch on something that happened earlier this week. Obviously, Eoghan Bernal had a horrific accident in Colombia. I don't know the full extent of his injuries, and frankly, I don't think anyone should know the full extent of his injuries," Froome said on the latest episode of Youtube on Saturday (open in new tab).

"Leave that kid alone. He's taking a big hit right now. He will be lying in the hospital. He and all his family, what does this mean for their lives? What is going to happen to cycling? I mean, all I can do now is offer support to him and his family. No one needs to ask questions about his injuries, when he will be able to ride a bike again, or get back to the highest level."

Bernal was training with some of his Ineos Grenadiers teammates near his home in Colombia last Monday when he crashed into the back of a stationary bus. The Ineos Grenadiers team confirmed in a medical update that Bernal suffered a fractured vertebra, fractured right femur, fractured right patella, chest trauma, punctured lung, and several fractured ribs in the accident.

According to the medical update from the hospital, he is currently recovering at Clínica Universidad de La Sabana after undergoing complex but successful spinal surgery to correct fractures of the knee, femur, and right metacarpal and to manage an alveolar fracture in his mouth.

Bernal took to social media on Friday to share some photos from his hospital bed. He stated that he was in danger of losing his life or becoming paralyzed due to injuries sustained in the accident.

"There is a 95% chance I would have been paralyzed from the bottom and would have lost my life while doing what I love most. Today I want to thank God, @ClinicaUsabana (La Sabana University Clinica), all the professionals who made the impossible possible, my family, @mafemotas (girlfriend Maffe Motas), and everyone who wished me luck," Bernal wrote Friday on Twitter and Instagram wrote on Twitter and Instagram,

"Still waiting for more surgeries in the ICU, but I trust God that all will be well."

The two men are now in the ICU, and the surgery is scheduled to take place in the next few days.

Froom was researching the time trial stage of the 2019 Criterium du Dauphiné when he crashed. He suffered a double femur fracture, multiple other fractures, and a collapsed lung, and went through a long recovery process. He and Bernal were teammates on Team Sky (now Ineos Grenadiers) from 2018 to 2020, but moved to Israel Startup Nation last year.

"What [Egan Bernal] needs now are his friends and family nearby, to get through this one step at a time, and first and foremost to focus on getting back to a normal life, and cycling can come later," Froome said on Saturday.

"My thoughts, obviously, go to him. It's very sad for our sport, especially to see a young athlete like him take a beating like that."