Armstrong gets plate and 12 screws

LOS ANGELES: Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was recovering from surgery on Wednesday after having a stainless steel plate and 12 screws inserted to stabilize his fractured right collarbone.

The 37-year-old American broke his collarbone in four places during the first stage of Spain's Vuelta Castilla y Leon on Monday and returned to the United States to have surgery in Austin, Texas.

Although Armstrong's broken collarbone was more serious than initially suspected and required a "challenging" operation, his surgeon said he was confident the rider would be able to resume light training after about a week.