Tom Pidcock will make an early return in Sunday's Ghent-Wevelgem after missing the Stradhe Bianche with a stomach issue and also abstaining from Milan-San Remo.

The Englishman, who was originally scheduled to return next week at Dwars door Hlaanderen, was a surprise addition to the Ineos Grenadiers lineup for Ghent-Wevelgem, which was announced on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking to Cycling News at the E3 Saxo Bank Classic on Friday, Ineos manager Rod Ellingworth revealed that Pidcock is confident of competing in the Tour de Flanders despite his bout of illness.

"He will be fine. He recovered pretty quickly after Milan-San Remo," Ellingworth told Cycling News.

"He's fine now and his training is fine.

Pidcock trained at high altitude in Andorra after a stomach virus forced him to withdraw from the Strade Bianche, his first major goal of the road season. Pidcock returned to action last weekend in Milan-San Remo, but was pinned back in the 293-km race after being out of distance in Capo Verta.

Earlier this week, Pidcock's coach, Kurt Bogerts, told Het Laatste Nieuws that he had undergone blood tests to determine the source of the problem. According to Ellingworth, Pidcock's stomach problem in Milan-San Remo appears to be a separate issue from the illness that forced him to miss the Strade Bianche.

"No, he was training well before that. To be honest, he just had a bad gut. So I'm not 100% sure, but he seems fine now."

Pidcock's dexterity means that his classic campaign will include debuts in the Amstel Gold Race, Brabantspaille, Flèche Wallonne, and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in late April, where he had his best results last spring.

With that in mind, the cyclocross world champion would still have time this spring, but Ellingworth was confident he would return to the peloton for the Cobbled Classics.

"A rider like Tom is always busy with his goals and there is a lot he wants to accomplish this year," Ellingworth said.

"He's supposed to race on Wednesday, so fingers crossed he'll be there. Having said that, so far he seems to be getting calls from all directions."

The professional peloton has been ravaged by illness in recent weeks, and Ellingworth's Ineos team was not spared.

Filippo Ganna will miss this weekend's race in Belgium as he continues his recovery from an illness that limited him in Milan-San Remo, and Ineos lost three riders to illness this week in Volta a Catalunya, Richie Porte, Michaud Kwiatkowski, and Pavel Sivakov.

"Many players throughout the peloton are sick or bugged.

"As much as we are doing the best we can, it seems quite a lot of people are sick. Jumbo Visma started Catalunya with six riders and Jack Hague left the race.

Pidcock will be joined in Ghent-Wevelgem by Dylan van Baar, Honatan Narvaez, Elia Viviani, Ben Swift, Ben Turner, and Luke Rowe in Ineos Grenadier's lineup.