Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider Tom Boonen suffered a fractured rib in his Tour of Flanders crash on Sunday, his team has officially confirmed.

The Belgian champion crashed less than 20 km into Belgium’s most coveted classic, ending the defence of his 2012 victory and confirmed soon afterwards that he would definitely miss out on this Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix; a race that he also won last year.

Early reports suggested that Boonen had “only” sustained contusions and a swelling to his knee and hip but, having experienced pain since Tuesday, Boonen was x-rayed at a clinic in Belgium where a fracture to his rib was discovered.

The bad luck for the team did not end with Boonen’s crash, however, as Dries Devenyns fractured the radius of his left arm as he crashed during the opening stage of the Vuelta al País Vasco on Mopnday. The 29-year-old’s fracture was diagnosed as complicated by the Herentals Clinic in Belgium, and he underwent surgery yesterday.

“I would like to thank the hospital and medical staff for their professionalism,” Devenyns said on the team website. “Unfortunately the fracture was complicated and I have to wear a cast for a few weeks. It's really a shame; I was in good condition and ready for the Ardennes classics. There's nothing I can do now, only recover and try to be ready as soon as possible.”

As of present, neither rider has a definite schedule for returning to racing, but both have written off their spring classics campaign - Boonen on the cobbles and Devenyns in the Ardennes.