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Los Angeles - Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong posted a video on the internet on Thursday, thanking friends and fans for their support a day after surgery to repair his broken collarbone.
"We don't know how my recovery will go. We'll just take it day-by-day and ultimately get back on the bike and try to sort things out," said the US cycling icon, whose collarbone was broken into four pieces in a crash in the Tour of Castilla y Leon Spain on Monday.
He arrived in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday and had surgery there on Wednesday in which doctors inserted a steel plate with 12 screws to stabilize the broken bone.
"I thought everything went very smoothly," said Armstrong, who displayed an X-ray that showed the plate and screws during the video which appeared to be shot at his home.
The big question since Armstrong's crash has been how the injury will affect his chances of competing in the Tour de France, which starts on July 4, and whether there is any chance he will be able to compete as planned in the Giro d'Italia in May.
Armstrong himself said on Tuesday he thought the Giro was "still very doable".
Surgeon Doug Elenz said on Wednesday that it would usually take eight to 12 weeks for such an injury to heal completely, but indicated Armstrong could be back in action before that depending on his progress.
A cancer survivor who went on to claim a record seven Tour de France crowns, Armstrong ended a three-and-a-half year retirement at the Tour Down Under in Australia in January to launch a comeback aimed at challenging for an eighth Tour de France title.
In the video posted on the livestrong.com website, Armstrong thanked friends and fans for ther good wishes.
"We'll check in soon," he promised.
