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Italian cyclist Lorenzo Gobbo is in intensive care after his lung was punctured by a piece of wooden track at the European Under-23 and Junior track Championships in Ghent, Belgium.

The wood cut Gobbo's thigh and pierced his side, puncturing his lung. The 17-year-old was rushed to hospital, where a surgeon removed the wood.

"After the operation he is recovering well but stays in intensive care to prevent infections," Frank Glorieux, chief executive of meet organisers Cycling Vlaanderen told Â鶹ԼÅÄ Sport.

Glorieux had visited Gobbo on Saturday and said the rider was awake with his parents alongside him, adding: "Everything is under control."

Gobbo was riding in the scratch race of the men's junior omnium when there was a crash. A pedal went into the track, dislodging a piece of it, which the rider then fell on.