The Italian remarkably recovered after being knocked off his bike by a police motorcycle to finish the stage 13 seconds behind winner and overall race leader Geraint Thomas.

Tour de France Thibaut Pinot: Only winning the Tour will heal wounds 30/07/2019 AT 12:40

However, despite occupying fourth overall – 2:37 off Thomas – the Bahrain-Merida rider has been forced to abandon his Tour dream after further scans proved damaging.

"The scan has confirmed what we feared," Bahrain-Merida team doctor Emilio Magni told Tuttobiciweb. "There's a fracture of the T10 vertebra. It's a non-displaced fracture but it's clear Vincenzo can't ride his bike again for at least 15 days."

A tweet from Nibali read: