Nicholas Dlamini said in a message on Facebook for the first time since undergoing surgery to treat a broken arm suffered when the 24-year-old NTT ProTeam athlete was jostled by a park ranger in Cape Town, South Africa, that he has been "overwhelmed by the support I have received both at home and abroad, especially from the cycling community."

Dlamini was scheduled to start the 2020 season at the Tour Down Under in Australia in January, but will need significant time to fully recover, which will affect his 2020 plans and his hopes of representing South Africa at the Tokyo Olympics.

"It has been a very upsetting experience and your support means a lot to me. My first step was to undergo surgery, which I am told went well, but surgeons are unable to determine a prognosis at this early stage. So at this point, I do not know when I will be able to ride my bike. The surgeon and care team will be in touch with the NTT team doctors to confirm this," Dlamini wrote. [For now, he will need to receive specialist care and physical therapy in the hospital or rest at home until he is discharged and recovered enough to give a statement to the police. We don't know yet when that will be, but right now I'm a little restless and still trying to come to terms with what happened.

Dlamini was training in the Silvermine area of Table Mountain National Park near Cape Town on Friday, December 27, when he was stopped on the side of the road and forcibly seized by one of four SANParks rangers. Video footage of the incident was spread on social media, prompting outrage. The park rangers then twisted Dlamini's left arm behind his back until a "bang" could be heard.

SANParks, a conservation authority, issued a statement claiming that Dlamini entered Table Mountain National Park through Gate 1 in the Silvermine area.

Donovan Le Coq, who shot video footage of the incident, said he was not riding with Dlamini at the time but saw the rider training on Silvermine Road. In a post on Twitter, Le Coq said that when Dlamini got off to leave the park, a group of six concerned individuals grabbed the bars of his bike and tried to stop him.

"That caused him to fall and get hurt," Le Cok said. Nick got up and faced the Senior Ranger (the large man in the video who eventually assaulted him)."

Le Cok said he decided to film the incident after seeing the situation between the park ranger and Dlamini begin to escalate.

"A large senior ranger punched the skinny little Nick. 'Then he turned him around and twisted him until his arm broke. There was a loud bang and Nick screamed. Nick kept screaming, 'My arm is broken, my arm is broken. The officials then threw Nick into the back of a van".

After the incident, Dlamini received hundreds of messages of support, including from South African government officials and politicians. He is supported by the NTT Pro Cycling team, and the international law firm Norton Rose Fulbright is handling his case while SANParks conducts an investigation.

"For now, he will need to receive specialist care and physiotherapy in hospital or rest at home until he is well enough to leave hospital and give a statement to the police. We don't know yet when that will be, but right now I am a little unsettled and still trying to come to terms with what happened," Dlamini explained. 'After this horrible incident, I am being represented by the international law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. Norton Rose Fulbright has tremendous experience in dealing with such contentious issues and is currently handling Caster Semenya's case against the IAAF. I would like to thank the numerous offers of legal representation from all parties involved in assisting me.

"Finally, with the help of my wonderful support team, my manager and everyone at NTT, I will be getting legal advice from Norton Rose Fulbright on my next steps. I look forward to sharing more details with you as soon as I can."

Dlamini's NTT Pro Cycling team fully supports the rider and has asked SANParks to investigate the incident and take specific action.

"NTT Pro Cycling fully condemns violence in any form and would like to make it clear that we are very uncomfortable with the way our teammate was treated," said a statement from the team.

"The 24-year-old had just finished a very promising 2019 that included his first Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España, and was looking to follow it up in 2020 with more big races in the sport.

"This unnecessary injury will seriously affect not only his chances of racing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but also that ...