Wout Van Aert injured his knee in a crash at the Vuelta. Team Tell

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Wout van Aert suffered a “serious” knee injury but not a fracture in the crash that ended his participation in the Vuelta a Espana, Belgian team Visma-Lease said on Wednesday.

Van Aert, winner of three stages of the race and leader of the mountains and points classification, was forced to withdraw on Tuesday after a serious crash on stage 16.

His team reported: “Wout Van Aert did not suffer a fracture in his fall at the Vuelta.

“However, the 29-year-old player suffered a serious knee injury that required intensive medical care.”

The team added in a post on social media that Van Aert is returning to Belgium to continue his rehabilitation.

Van Aert has a difficult 2024 behind him. In March, he suffered multiple fractures in the Tour of Flanders following a serious crash that forced him to miss the remaining one-day classics of the spring.

However, he returned in good form and in July in Paris he won the Olympic bronze medal in the time trial.

The latest crash on Tuesday has thrown into doubt his participation in the UCI Road World Championships in Zurich at the end of the month.