Chris Froome has been forced to withdraw from the Vuelta a Espana due to injuries sustained in a crash on the 11th stage.

The Brit was knocked off the road into a barrier and stone wall in the opening kilometres of Wednesday's stage, fracturing a bone in his right foot as the peloton began the climb of the Collada de Beixalis.

After bravely finishing the 138-kilometre stage with the help of his team-mates, Froome was unable to put weight on his right foot. After a subsequent x-ray, an MRI scan on Thursday morning revealed a fractured navicular bone.

"I'm really gutted to be leaving the race but the injuries that I sustained on yesterday's stage were too much to continue," said Froome.

"I hit my right side heavily and the main impact went on my right foot. I was desperate to dig in and finish the stage and my team-mates did brilliantly to get me through it, but as soon as I got off the bike I couldn't put any weight on my right side.

"An MRI scan has shown that I have fractured navicular bone in my right foot, so now I'll work with our medical team on making a full recovery.

"This is a great group of guys and I would love to have fought on with them until the end. I wish them all the best with the remainder of the race and I'll be cheering them on from home.

"I'd also like to thank the fans for all their support and get well messages. I'll be back soon!"

Team Sky Doctor Inigo Sarriegui confirmed: "Chris came off the bike right at the start of the stage yesterday. He went into the wall and developed pain after the first climb in his right foot. He couldn't put any pressure on it so he was basically cycling just with his left. 

"After the stage we did some examinations which revealed he was very tender on his right foot around the navicular area. He had an x-ray which didn't show up a fracture, but because he still couldn't weight-bear we proceeded onto an MRI this morning which confirmed there was a fracture.

"Chris will go home today and the next step will be to get a specialist opinion on further treatment."

Sports Director Dario Cioni was full of praise for the way in which Froome battled on following the crash.

He said: "After the crash it looked like Chris had gone down hard and we were all quite worried. But he was the first to say he wanted to push on. He made his way back to the bunch on the first climb and even afterwards he was saying that he felt good.

"I think once the adrenaline from the crash wore off a bit the pain increased and he began to drop back. It was a really brave effort to get over those climbs to the finish, even though he was in a lot of pain. It just showed that he wanted to give himself every chance to stay in the race."