Cape Town - Former Springbok flyhalf Joel Stransky will on Sunday undergo plastic surgery to his face after a horror crash in the Cape Epic mountain bike race.

Stransky, 49, suffered the crash in the opening Prologue of the event at Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville.

Stransky, riding in his eighth Cape Epic, was left bloodied and bruised after a nasty fall in which he broke a rib and punctured a lung.

Stransky, who was partnered by former Sharks centre Jeremy Thomson in the Grand Masters category, was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Earlier this week, Stransky took to Twitter to thank his well wishers for their support and confirmed that the surgery went well.

On Tuesday, he updated his social media account with a post-surgery picture of his badly cut face:

Not pretty, definitely on the mend! Had a good walk today to get the lung going again. Proper pain killers now?? #LandRoverZA #untamed #FOMO pic.twitter.com/aw0ztartcW — Joel Stransky (@stranners) March 21, 2017

“I’m in immense pain, but I’m receiving painkillers and it helps me to sleep. I’m lying with a pipe in my rib cage to drain out the moisture that has formed on my lungs - which was caused by the broken rib,” Stransky told Netwerk24, confirming he will undergo plastic surgery.

On Wednesday morning, Stransky posted a picture of himself walking in the parking lot of the hospital, thanking fans for their support: