Bonicelli transferred to Milan: the gymnast who fell from the rings will undergo rehabilitation in Italy.

Lorenzo Bonicelli was transferred today from the Essen University Hospital to the Niguarda Hospital in Milan . The complex operation—coordinated by federal doctor Andrea Ferretti , who returned to Germany yesterday to closely monitor the delicate boarding procedures after consulting with his German colleagues —began around 8:00 a.m. with the takeoff of the air ambulance from Innsbruck Airport and concluded around 3:00 p.m. with the arrival of the Italian gymnast at the Niguarda Neurosurgery Department. His family and girlfriend were with him. Bonicelli, who was injured on July 23 while diving on the rings during the Universiade competitions, tolerated the transfer well and remained alert throughout the journey.

The Italian Gymnastics Federation thanks the doctors

“The Italian Gymnastics Federation, which, following President Andrea Facci 's visit to Essen at the end of the Universiade, had taken charge of its athlete's health through Professor Ferretti since Monday, July 28,” a statement reads, “thanks everyone who assisted Lorenzo from the very first moment, from FederCusi , chaired by Antonio Dima , and his doctor, Dr. Filippo Ferrari , who had to manage the very difficult initial phases after the injury, to neurosurgeon Dr. Laurèl Rauschenbach , who immediately subjected the athlete to surgery, and to his team, who assisted him with skill and loving care.”

Bonicelli and rehabilitation in Milan

The FGI statement further explains that "Dr. Giuseppe Sechi , medical director of Niguarda, will now take care of Bonicelli, and we extend our gratitude to him for his compassion and willingness to promptly welcome the twenty-three-year-old from Abbadia Lariana. Now that he's back home in Italy, closer to the Seveso CAT and coaches Paolo Quarto, Pamela Cauli, and Pietro Spreafico—though not yet in his native Lecco, where he developed his skills at the Ghislanzoni Gal gym—Lorenzo will feel even more the warmth of everyone who supported him during his recovery with concern, compassion, and affection, starting with his teammates Riccardo Villa, Nicolò Vannucchi, and coach Roberto Germani, who were with him in Germany."