Eddy Merckx efficiently underwent emergency surgical procedure for an intestinal obstruction in late March, based on Het Laatste Nieuws. The Belgian has since returned residence after a brief spell on the college hospital in Jette, close to Brussels.
The 78-year-old was delivered to hospital by his spouse Claudine after experiencing abdomen ache through the night time of March 26. He was operated on at 3am that night time to take away a piece of his gut.
Merckx informed Het Laatste Nieuws that he had woken up in excessive ache on the night time in query, however that his life was by no means at risk. Though Merckx misplaced appreciable weight after the surgical procedure, the newspaper described his restoration as “peaceable.”
Merckx, who will flip 79 in June, was not too long ago honoured with a mural in his birthplace of Meensel-Kiezegem. The five-time Tour de France winner moved to Sint-Pieters-Woluwe in Brussels together with his household when he was a yr outdated.
The mural depicts Merckx in Molteni equipment, with the quantity 525 outstanding to mark his document variety of victories.
“It’s an ideal honour,” Merckx mentioned on the inauguration final month. “My mother and father’ house is simply 50 metres away. It’s fantastic to obtain such a tribute after so a few years within the sport.”
“I additionally rode my first race right here after I was 12 years outdated. I keep in mind being caught and successful the dash in opposition to the boy who rode to the end with me.”
