Hortelano stable after operation to reconstruct hand

[September 06, 2016]  (Reuters) - Spanish athlete Bruno Hortelano is in stable condition after undergoing a three-hour operation in a Madrid hospital to reconstruct his right hand following a car accident.

Hortelano, the 200 meter gold medalist at the European Championships in Amsterdam in July, was in the passenger's seat at the time of Monday's accident and suffered severe damage to his right hand.

"Bruno is stable considering the severity of the injury but after the first operation, we are very happy," Hortelano’s agent Alberto Armas told reporters. "The operation lasted around three hours. Once progress is made, a second operation will need to be done.

"The hand was the most affected area and it has been reconstructed. The little finger is the only one that hasn't been fully reconstructed.

"It's too early to make a full evaluation but he is in good spirits.

"The important thing now is that his hand does not get infected."

 (From L) Bruno Hortelano (ESP) of Spain, Justin Gatlin (USA) of USA and Matteo Galvan (ITA) of Italy compete. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

The 24-year-old Hortelano went to the Rio Olympics but failed to qualify for the 200 meters final.

(Reporting by Adriana Garcia; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

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