Double fracture of the hand, the need for surgery and the possible skipping of the World Cup: what is known about the injury of the skier Nepryaeva

“I don’t think she will have time to recover by the World Cup”

The women's individual 10 km freestyle race at the World Cup in cross-country skiing in Falun was overshadowed for the Russian national team by a serious injury to Natalya Nepryaeva.

The Olympic medalist fell on the last descent before being rolled out to the stadium and injured her arm.

The pain was so strong that the athlete could not hold back her tears.

She also could not finish and left the track only with the help of coaches.

Nepryaeva was taken straight from the stadium to the hospital to have an X-ray taken.

The national team hoped to the last that Natalya would manage with a bruise, but the diagnosis was disappointing.

The 25-year-old skier suffered a broken hand and will require surgery.

As specified in the Federation of Cross-Country Skiing of Russia (FLGR), Nepryaeva received a fracture of the metacarpal bones of the third and fourth fingers of her right hand.

According to the head doctor of the national team Roman Erlikhman, it will be possible to talk about the timing of recovery after the operation.

“She will most likely be operated on at the Central Clinical Hospital - there are very good specialists in hand problems.

On Sunday, Natasha will return to Moscow, they will examine her, take a smear for coronavirus and, if the test turns out to be negative, they may be operated on as early as Monday, ”Erlikhman told RT.

According to the president of the FLGR, Elena Vyalbe, the x-ray showed that one of the fractures was comminuted.

The functionary added that the operation could take place as early as Sunday, January 31st.

“I don't think she will have time to recover by the World Cup.

Our doctors have only seen a snapshot so far, so they do not say how long it will take to recover.

It will become known later, "R-Sport quotes Vyalbe.

In turn, the coach of the Russian national team, Yuri Borodavko, also doubted that the athlete would have time to recover for the World Championships, which will be held in Oberstdorf from February 23 to March 7.

“Surgical intervention is required.

You need to fly to Moscow for surgery.

And with the plate, according to the recommendations, you need to walk a month.

Then they will pull her out.

And only then can you return to training.

It’s a pity, ”the TASS coach is quoted as saying.

According to the sports orthopedic surgeon, professor Sergei Arkhipov, the most important thing in such fractures is to avoid displacement of the fragments, so the hand is immediately fixed, but not tightly.

“The main danger of such injuries is that three large nerves pass in this area - the median, radial and ulnar - and their compression is always extremely undesirable: if they are in a compressed state, the so-called carpal tunnel syndrome (a disease that manifests itself pain and numbness of the fingers. -

RT

) ", - said the doctor.

Moreover, unlike Vyalbe and Borodavko, he admitted the likelihood of Natalia's participation in the World Championship - in the event that she would not have a plate installed.

“In terms of restoration of hand functions, this creates a lot of problems.

Whether Natalia will be able to recover before the start of the planetary championship, it will be possible to say only after the operation.

If the injury is such that an operation and the installation of a special plate are required, most likely, Nepryaeva's championship will have to be missed, ”added Arkhipov.

According to him, the athlete will be taken to the Moscow hospital of St. Alexy for consultation on Sunday.

And the operation will probably be performed by Valentina Kalantyrskaya, the head of the hand microsurgery center, “the best specialist in hand injuries in the country”.

"This is a huge blow"

The damage to Nepryaeva was a real shock for domestic fans, because it was assumed that it was she, in company with Yulia Stupak, who would fight for medals at the World Championship.

So, at the last world championship in Seefeld, a native of Tver won two bronze medals - in the skiathlon and in the relay.

In the last form, she took bronze at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.

This season Natalia also regularly fought for getting into the top three at the World Cup stages.

In Davos, she became third in the sprint, and in Dresden - second in the team sprint, along with Stupak.

The Russian woman also showed herself brightly at the January Tour de Ski, where she won the mass start.

As a result, Nepryaeva managed to take seventh place in the overall standings of the stage race.

It seemed that the skier would still have time to get in shape by the World Championships, but now the likelihood of her participation in the championship is extremely small.

Journalist Dmitry Guberniev spoke eloquently about what happened, commenting on the women's race in Falun.

He called her injury a "blow."

“I am wildly upset, because I always root for her and personally strongly sympathize with her.

It is clear that there is no world championship ... I wish you a speedy recovery.

This is a huge blow to my commentatorial pain too.

And in general, I worry about girls, because we are losing so much, to be honest.

Let's see what happens next, ”Guberniev wrote in his Telegram channel.

Other domestic skiers also experience certain problems: the main opening of the season as part of the Russian national team, Tatyana Sorina continues to recover from injury, and Alisa Zhambalova received a positive coronavirus test and is in quarantine.