Bernie Eisel has surgery to remove blood clot on brain

Bernhard Eisel has undergone surgery to treat a blood clot on his brain, his Dimension Data team has revealed.

It said that the chronic subdural haematoma, discovered in a scan last week, resulted from the 37-year-old’s crash on Stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico in March.

The injury resulted from an accumulation of blood beneath the dura mater, the protective layer around the brain, with bleeding happening slowly over several weeks, leading to clotted blood putting pressure on the brain.

As a result, it was not picked up by a CAT scan after the crash, but by an MRI scan ordered last week when the popular Austrian rider, who thought he had been suffering from allergies, told medical staff he was experiencing severe headaches.

The team said that he underwent successful surgery on Monday to decompress the lesion and relieve the pressure on his brain at the at the Maria Hilf Private Clinic in Klagenfurt, Austria.

It added that it was “pleased and relieved with the successful outcome of the surgery and thankful to the neurosurgical team involved.

“Bernie will be able to begin with light training on the turbo trainer in 2 weeks and hopefully a return to full outdoor training in 4 weeks after a follow-up MRI.”

Eisel, who moved to Dimension Data for the 2016 after four seasons at Team Sky, said: “I can’t really say when I will be back on my bike.

“Firstly, I want to get healthy, take my time and if the doctors give me the go ahead I will consider when is best to return on my bike.

“I still enjoy riding my bike but this was a massive thing that happened to my body.

“If you have an operation on your brain it certainly makes you think twice about things but at the moment I will just follow the recommendations of our team doctors.

“At the moment I am feeling good and looking forward to leaving the hospital and spending some time with family,” he added.