SOCHI, February 24. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko’s spine operation for replacing a broken bolt in an artificial intervertebral disc will be broadcast live. The athlete is confident he will have enough time to recover from the surgery.

“I think everybody already knows that the surgery will take place on March 2, and the broken bolt from an intervertebral disc will be taken out”, Plushenko told journalists. “Many people will see it because I want to show them how it happens,” he added. The athlete did not disclose any details, but noted that it will be “some kind of live broadcast.”

Plushenko says he will think about his career prospects after the surgery. “This time, I will not hurry,” he noted. “I underwent an operation a year ago, and I had to rush in order to perform at home Olympics, but now I have plenty of time,” Plushenko explained. “I need to recover properly and avoid such consequences,” the figure skater added.

Plushenko told reporters that 50,000 bolts were used in the operation to insert artificial intervertebral discs into his spine. Usually, two or three bolts break down, the athlete added. “Good thing it ended this way because I could have been left paralyzed,” Plushenko concluded.