Four-times Tour de France champion Chris Froome sustained a life-threatening injury to his heart in a training crash in southern France last week, his wife Michelle said.

The 40-year-old Briton was airlifted to hospital in Toulon after the August 27 crash, which also left him with broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a back fracture.

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His wife said doctors discovered Froome had suffered a pericardial rupture – a tear in the protective sac surrounding the heart, often caused by blunt chest trauma.

“It was obviously a lot more serious than some broken bones,” she told The Times newspaper. “He’s fine, but it’s going to be a long recovery process. He won’t be riding a bike for a while.”

Froome, who has won seven Grand Tours – including two Vuelta a Espana titles and one Giro d’Italia victory – has struggled to regain his best form following a high-speed crash during training for the Criterium du Dauphine in 2019.

Last year, he expressed his desire to compete in the Tour de France one final time before retiring, but has faced further setbacks. He suffered a broken collarbone in a crash during the final stage of the UAE Tour earlier this year and was not selected for this year’s Tour de France.

Following the surgery, a post on Froome’s Instagram account said the cyclist was “in good spirits and grateful for the excellent medical support he has received”.