UAE Team Emirates rider Fabio Aru has been ruled out of the upcoming Volta a Catalunya and the Giro d'Italia - the first grand tour of the season - after requiring surgery to fix a "constriction of the iliac artery in his left leg".
Aru, who won the young riders' white jersey at the 2015 Giro before months later claiming his first grand tour title at the Vuelta a Espana, has struggled with injuries since joining UAE Team Emirates at the start of the 2018 season.
Earlier this month, he withdrew from the Paris-Nice after three stages in his first UCI World Tour event of the year.
Named as part of the team's original seven-rider line-up for the Volta a Catalunya, which takes place March 25-31, Aru now faces surgery and will also be sidelined for the May 11 to June 2 Giro d'Italia.
“After the start of the season, Aru again encountered difficulties in getting up to the normal level that he and the team had hoped for,” Dr Jeroen Swart, head of the medical staff of UAE Team Emirates, said in a statement.
“Recently, Fabio developed more specific symptoms related to his left leg: he felt feelings of weakness in the limb after intense training and in race efforts.
“In view of these symptoms, further medical tests have shown a constriction of the iliac artery in his left leg.
"In the coming days ... Aru will undergo angioplasty surgery, after which he will have to observe an absolute rest period of one month. For something like this, the return time is estimated at three or four months.”
Aru expressed his frustration at his latest injury setback and vowed to work hard to get back to full fitness as quickly as possible.
“It is a feeling that I feel when I have to go all-out, while the symptom disappears at a medium pace, so much so that in training I get the basic numbers,” the 28-year-old Italian said.
“From a certain point of view, I can only be relieved to have found the problem. On the other hand, I am angry about the bad luck that has fallen on me for the umpteenth time that will force me to miss the Giro d’Italia again. I will work to try to put an end to this dark period as soon as possible.
“I thank the team for the closeness shown this year-and-a-half and for working with me to find the solution to the problems that have plagued me. We really hope this is the final chapter.”
UAE Team Emirates will be led at the Volta a Catalunya by Irish rider Dan Martin, who will be supported by Colombian Cristian Munoz, Portugal's Rui Oliveira, Australian Rory Sutherland, and Italian pair Edward Ravasi and Simone Petilli. The team are yet to announce Aru's replacement.
