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ESPN staff
Rally rider CS Santosh will be flown back to India in the next couple of days after he suffered a crash during Stage 4 of the Dakar Rally and was airlifted to a Riyadh hospital last Wednesday. The 37-year-old Indian sustained head trauma and a dislocated right shoulder and has been kept in a medically induced coma to manage the injury and keep bodily functions to a minimum. The first Indian to complete a Dakar Rally, Santosh was being treated at the Saudi German hospital in Riyadh.
“Based on scans and assessments, Santosh is stable and continues to be under observation. He has been cleared to be flown back to India, where he will be attended by the local doctors. He will be transferred in a sleeping state to avoid any unnecessary stress during the transfer. This is a very positive development as he will now be with his family and in familiar conditions, which always helps in a faster recovery. He is scheduled to fly in the next few days,” his team Hero MotoSports said in a statement.
After nine stages of the Dakar Rally currently underway in Saudi Arabia, Santosh’s teammates Joaquim Rodrigues, who finished Stage 9 on Tuesday in 13th position found a spot in the top 15 overall standings while Sebastian Buhler was ranked 16th. The rally ends on Friday in Jeddah.