Ethan Hayter broke his collarbone in the Criterium du Dauphiné, casting doubt on his chances of making his Tour de France debut this summer.

Hayter, of Ineos Grenadiers, was injured with about 75 km to go in the opening stage of the French race, which was held in soaking wet conditions.

He was taken to the hospital, where it was revealed that he had broken his left collarbone. According to the team, he also suffered an impact to the head requiring minor stitches and road surface eczema on the hip, knee, and elbow on the left side of his body.

"Ongoing team medical evaluation and treatment will be planned as appropriate over the next few days," a statement from the team said.

The length of Hayter's withdrawal is unknown at this time. Clavicle fractures take about six weeks to heal, but some minor fractures can heal in a shorter period of time. It has not been confirmed whether Hayter's fracture requires surgery.

The Tour de France begins in four weeks, on Saturday, June 1. Hayter, who was named to the Ineos long list, will miss the remainder of the Dauphiné, but can maintain his form on his home trainer.

Hayter suffered the same injury at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in early February and missed the European Track Championships before being switched to a spring program without the Classics.

The 24-year-old, who also broke his collarbone in the 2019 Tour de l'Avenir, bounced back in the Volta a Catalunya and took stage wins in Iturria Basque and Tour de Romandie.

In May, he took part in a training camp in Tenerife with the Tour de France contenders from Ineos Grenadiers.

The Dauphiné is the main warm-up race for the Tour, and Egan Bernal and Daniel Martinez from Ineos will compete along with Jonathan Castroviejo, Carlos Rodriguez, Omar Freire and Ben Turner.