Just a week after learning that he required surgery on the knee problem that has been troubling him since Paris-Roubaix in April, Matti Breschel has undergone a successful operation. The procedure to remove some scar tissue was performed by Doctor Eilif Larsen at the Amadeus Specialist Center in Brondby, Denmark.
When the Saxo Bank rider, who has signed for Rabobank from 2011, learned that he would have to go under the knife to fix his problem it was thought that he would need between six and twelve weeks to recover. This timeframe could have potentially kept him off his bike until the end of February, which would have effectively ruined the classics campaign that he has specifically moved across to the Dutch team to target.
He had also feared the worst: that his career may be over. “I haven’t slept a wink in a few days now,” Breschel had said to DR Sports before his surgery. “It’s something that you realise, that you may never sit on a bicycle again.”
Luckily for Breschel though, Larsen was able to inform him that he would only need to stay off his bike for four to six weeks. This should see hi return to the saddle by early January at the latest, meaning that his dreams of a cobbled classic win are still very much a reality.
"If we're talking four to six weeks, then there is enough time,” the World Championship silver medallist told DR Sports afterwards. “As a sportsman, I hope of course that it happens a little faster."