Tadej Pogačar Discharged After Surgery in Barcelona

Tadej Pogačar has left a Barcelona hospital and will return home to begin rehabilitation after surgery on his fractured left collarbone.

The Slovenian cyclist underwent the operation on Aug. 31 under the care of doctor Xavier Mir at Hospital Universitario Dexeus. The collarbone fracture was displaced. He had also suffered a concussion on Aug. 29 and a fracture of the C7 cervical vertebra.

Those injuries forced Pogačar to abandon La Vuelta a España during its eighth stage, when he was leading the race. The withdrawal leaves the Spanish tour as the only one of cycling’s three major stage races he has not won, despite his five Tour de France titles and Giro d’Italia victory.

It was his seventh race abandonment because of injury since joining UAE Team Emirates. His most recent previous withdrawal came in 2023 at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the 2026 Vuelta marked the first stage race he had abandoned in his career.

His team has not specified how long he will be out. Pogačar shared a photograph from his hospital bed before the operation, wearing a cervical collar and showing a dressing near his right eyebrow. The road world championships will take place in Montreal from Sept. 20 to 27. His team has not confirmed whether he will compete, although participation has not been ruled out.