John Hopkins last week at Assen. While initial reports suggested that no bones had been broken, Hopkins, upon his return back to California, found that in addition to the muscle and tendon damage suffered in the dislocation, he also had a fractured femur. The renowned surgeon and motorcycle crash specialist, Dr. Ting operated on Hopkins on Monday, inserting screws to fix the fracture. Hopper has already left the hospital to start his recovery at his California home, and hopes to return to competitive action at the US round of WSBK at the Miller Motorsport Park on May 31st.
John Hopkins injuries ran to a posterior fracture dislocation of the left hip, which it took five solvable screws to fix, and Hopkins believes it was his most painful injury of his career.
“I have never been in so much pain in my whole life even though I have been in a few crashes! I was thrown into the air and landed on the track with my feet first. After an agonizing wait in the hospital, I felt slightly better when my hip was put back into place, but on Saturday morning I just felt like I had been run over by a train. Fortunately, my wife made a surprise visit to see me in Assen and supported me throughout the long flight back home. I had an appointment scheduled with Dr. Ting on Monday morning to get a clear indication of the sustained injuries, and set a realistic plan for my recovery. I will now start my therapy in a couple of days and have set my goal on being ready to race again in the US round. It is a shame this nasty crash happened, as the bike felt really good straight out of the box on Friday morning, and I was looking forward to competing for a top position.”
Hopper hopes to be fit again in time for the US round of World Superbikes at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah on May 31st, but that may be a little optimistic. Dr Ting said he expected it to be two weeks before John could contemplate any training, and that, in his own words, “I expect his full recovery to take up to 6 weeks, but with John anything is possible.”
Source: MotoGP Matters & Two Wheels Blog
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