Berlin (dpa) – Fernando Alonso has undergone surgery on a broken jaw he sustained in a cycling accident but is expected to make his return to Formula One as planned when the season starts next month.
The Alpine team of the former two-time F1 world champion Alonso said on Friday that “medics discovered a fracture in his upper jaw and conducted a successful corrective operation.”
The statement said that the 39-year-old would remain in hospital for observation for another two days.
“Looking forward, after a few days of complete rest he will be able to progressively resume training. We expect him to be fully operational to undertake preparation for the season,” Alpine said.
Alpine gave no details on the cycling accident in Switzerland on Thursday. Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport reported Alonso was hit by a car while cycling near Lugano, and taken to a local hospital.
Alonso won his F1 titles 2005 and 2006 with Renault, the French team now rebranded Alpine. The Spaniard is returning to F1 after two years in other motor sport events.
The 2021 season starts on March 28 in Bahrain which also hosts pre-season tests in mid-March.
