(Now updated with two videos) Lance Armstrong underwent surgery yesterday on his broken collarbone.  Originally the fracture was thought to be a simple break but when the Americans doctors looked at the x-rays in Austin, Texas they discovered that it was actually in four pieces.

Lance Armstrong’s collarbone by Elizabeth Kreutz coutesy of CSE

Surgeons used a stainless steel plate (surely Armstrong warrants Titanium!?!) and 12 screws to repair the fracture.  Dr Doug Elenz, who performed the procedure, admitted that this was more than he would normally use but necessary based on the fracture.

The big news is that Elenz said that the normal recovery time for something like this injury to heal completely is 8-12 weeks making participation in the Giro d’Italia difficult.  However he did stress the “completely” word and said that Armstrong could be back on a turbo trainer next week and road riding shortly afterwards, however he won’t be able to come out of the saddle.  Given his fitness, he could recover quickly. Below is the press conference given by the surgeons after the operation.

The collarbone fracture is the most common injury to cyclists and Armstrong is lucky to have made it 17 years without a break, given the intensity of his training.  Below is a message from Lance himself, filmed two days after his surgery.

It is not unknown for riders to soldier on with a broken collarbone.  Tyler Hamilton famously rode the2003 Tour de France despite breaking his on the 1st stage.  He even won a stage.  Armstrong’s break is admittedly more serious though.

Either way the Texans participation in the Tour de France is not in jeopardy it would seem.  As to the Giro, that is more of an issue that will depend on how quickly he heals.