Lance Stroll says the doctors had given him Australia as a deadline for F1 return, but the determination and persistence helped him for an early comeback.
A lot was kept under the bag when Aston Martin initially conveyed about the injury sustained by Stroll and him missing the F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain. Even speaking to media, the team didn’t divulge the full details of the Canadian’s whereabouts.
After a successful comeback – albeit with pain – Stroll penned down a long post detailing everything he went through from the day of incident on February 18 in Spain. The early assessment showed fracture and displacement on his right wrist.
Additionally, he had a fracture on his left wrist as well, with a partial fracture on his left hand and another fracture on his big toe on his right foot. He was banged up indeed and the initial assessment ruled him out from any action until Australia.
But he went to see Dr. Javier Mir – who is well known in the MotoGP paddock. He has operated several riders and knows in-depth about such injuries. He performed the surger on his right wrist but the left hand/wrist couldn’t be fixated due to nature of injury.
He had to rely on the conservative approach of therapy and plaster. It when his plaster came off on the fourth day that Stroll thought the possibility of a return in Bahrain itself – the faint possibility that Mir had given the Canadian ahead of the surgery.
Eventually the physiotherapy and rehab programme got him through to make a return in Bahrain GP where he finished sixth even though he drove through pain. “I want to take a moment today to reflect on the last couple weeks, and share my story with you guys,” wrote Stroll on a social media post.
“On Saturday, February 18th I crashed on my bike while training in Spain. The scans showed I had a fracture and displacement in my right wrist, a fracture in my left wrist, a partial fracture in my left hand and finally another fracture in the big toe on my right foot. With the beginning of the season right around the corner the timing could not have been worse.
“My medical team, at first, believed I was not only going to miss testing, but realistically the first few races. 48 hours after my accident/12 days before the first race Dr. Javier Mir successfully operated on my right wrist. Following surgery, Dr. Mir told me I’d be back for Jeddah if I worked hard and with a bit of luck he was optimistic I could race in Bahrain – but that was a faint possibility. To this day I am convinced the urgency Dr. Mir showed to me helped get me to Bahrain.
“The work wasn’t done. Unfortunately, Dr. Mir explained that the fractures in my left hand/wrist and toe weren’t suitable for fixation, and that I’d need to rely on a more conservative approach to heal my other injuries. My medical team ensured we were doing anything and everything that showed some evidence for bone healing. It became my full time job, trying to combine everything that could help, even if it was by 0.5%.
“Initially progress was slow – I needed a lot of help even with daily tasks at home. But each day got better and once the cast came off on day 4 it became possible we had a chance of racing in Bahrain. My medical team devised a programme that would help me restore mobility and strength in my wrists. Rehab required hard work and persistence – but with an incredible medical team and my friends and family supporting me – I was able to push through the pain and get back on track in Bahrain with my team and fellow drivers. And we did it!!! I am thankful for everyone who supported me, sent kind notes and wishes,” summed up Stroll.
Before the long post, the Canadian had more of his medical team to thank when he spoke to media in Bahrain after the grand prix. “My whole medical team has been incredible, I have to say,” continued Stroll. “Huge thank you to everyone that has helped me over the last two weeks from the surgeon in Spain, Dr. Mir – without him, it wouldn’t be possible to be here right now. He’s been unbelievable.
“My osteopath Henry, who’s been with me 10 hours a day, rehabbing my wrists, fixing my toe as much as – you can’t do much with toes, but as much as possible. Rob Madden back in the UK who had a lot to do with it, Rowena, I mean there’s a list of people that helped me over the last two weeks, 14 days ago exactly. I’ve had people saying, doctors saying maybe Australia to return,” summed up Stroll.
With a break of about two weeks, Stroll now has plenty of time to rest and further recover from the injury. The screws won’t come off soon but he is likely to be in a better shape for Saudi Arabia as he was already feeling better in Bahrain.
“Keep rehabbing, I’ve 12 days now to keep working on my wrist, but I’m feeling a lot better every day,” said Stroll. “My right wrist is feeling really solid. The one I got surgery on, the left one, I think it’s just time with hairline fractures. So it should be better, and my toes are feeling better every day.”
My journey. Huge thanks for your support over the last couple of weeks pic.twitter.com/0TY7v7p6rY
— Lance Stroll (@lance_stroll) March 7, 2023
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Here’s how F1 Bahrain GP panned out