Domenico Pozzovivo's wife quoted the Italian cyclist as telling her "they've ended my career" after he was hit by a car while training near the Calabrian town of Dipignano.
The 36-year-old team Bahrain-Merida rider suffered broken bones in his arms and legs and is currently sedated in hospital in Cosenza after undergoing surgery.
"He's in pain," Pozzovivo's wife, Valentina Conte, told ANSA.
"He is out of danger but the situation is serious.
"When he woke up this morning he just said 'let me go home'".
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