? Awang ruled out of Wold Championships next month
? Crash happened in men's keirin at Manchester Velodrome
Malaysia's Azizulhasni Awang, who crashed spectacularly as Sir Chris Hoy won the men's keirin at the Track World Cup on Saturday, will have a splinter of the Manchester Velodrome track removed from his calf today and has been ruled out of next month's World Championships.
As Hoy surged to a sensational win in the event which begins behind a motor-paced Derny, mayhem unfolded behind him on the final bend, with four of the six riders wiped out.
Awang's calf was skewered by a shard of Siberian pine from the track, but remarkably he recovered to remount his bike and finish third, with Jason Niblett ahead of him in second after avoiding the crash. Awang, though, soon stopped after the finish line, collapsing in agony with his calf pierced by the wood before he was taken away on a stretcher.
Awang, who has won World Championship medals in the past two seasons, is set to go under general anaesthetic for the removal of the splinter at Manchester's Royal Infirmary. A scan late on Saturday night assessed the injury, but medics opted to wait until tackling the splinter, which was around 20cm long.
"They said it's best if they do it with all their experts around and when everyone's fresh," said Malaysia's head coach, John Beasley. "The only way they can do it is by surgically going in from both ends and spreading it apart and pulling it out."
Awang had attempted to squeeze through a gap ahead of the crash, which also saw Kamil Kuczynski of Poland, Edward Dawkins of New Zealand and Spain's Juan Peralta Gascon wiped out and a foot race to the line in an attempt to gain valuable Olympic qualification points.
The 23-year-old was unable to receive his bronze medal on the podium, with Kuczynski fourth, Dawkins fifth and Peralta Gascon, who had been the first rider to fall, last after forgetting to carry his bike to the line.
Beasley was unaware of the splinter when he helped Awang back to his bike, checking the rider's head and state of mind, but not assessing his body for injuries.
"I feel really bad because I didn't even see it," added Beasley, who believed adrenaline took Awang across the line. "It wasn't until later I knew he had the splinter."
Awang, who was not due to ride today, will return to his home in Melbourne next week and will miss the World Championships in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, which begin on 23 March.
"He'll be right for the Olympics," added Beasley. "Hopefully Sir Chris Hoy will be in second place and he'll be on the top."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/feb/20/azizulhasni-awang-splinter-removed-crash
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