Damien Touzé details life threatening injuries after Oman crash - 'I’m going to die. Tell our son I love him'

The 29 year old Cofidis rider suffered multiple serious injuries in the incident, including fractures to his femur and pelvis, ligament damage in his knee, and significant abdominal trauma. A perforated intestine and ruptured spleen were only identified later, after his health worsened.

“I had the feeling I was fading,” Touzé said in an interview with L'Equipe. “Something wasn’t right.”

Shortly after the crash, he called his partner. “I’m going to die. Tell our son I love him,” he told her, before being taken to hospital.

Initial treatment focused on visible injuries. Touzé said the facility lacked proper equipment and did not carry out scans that might have revealed the internal damage. “They stitched my thigh, but that was it,” he said. “I could see people were worried, but no one could tell me what was really going on.”

Over the following hours, his condition declined. His fever rose sharply and his heart rate remained elevated. “With every hour, I was getting worse,” he said.

A transfer to another hospital revealed a ruptured spleen, while a Cofidis team doctor, who had remained with him, suspected further complications. “She didn’t trust what had been done,” Touzé said. “She told me straight that I might not wake up.”

Faced with that assessment, he made another call to his partner. “I didn’t want to at first,” he said. “But she insisted. So I called, and I said goodbye.”

Touzé also described the conditions he experienced during his treatment in Oman. “They put me near the bins, there were flies everywhere,” he said. “It didn’t feel like a place where you get better.”

He later underwent an emergency procedure to drain infection, and further complications were discovered. “In Belgium they told me my abdominal wall hadn’t been closed,” he said. “My organs were in contact with the skin. That’s when I understood how serious it had been.”

After being transferred to Belgium, Touzé underwent a five hour operation to stabilise his condition and repair the internal damage.

His recovery is expected to take at least eight to nine months. Alongside the abdominal injuries, he is also dealing with a fractured tibia and multiple ligament tears in his knee.

Whether he will return to racing remains uncertain. “I want to get back on the bike,” he said. “But you have to be realistic. After a year out, it’s not the same.”