Alex Rins Suffers Ankle Injury in Training Crash

Alex Rins has suffered a setback which could see him not participate in the second race of the season in Argentina.

The factory Suzuki rider crashed while riding his Suzuki motocross bike, and suffered a partial fracture his talus, the bone which sits at the top of the ankle and transfers the weight between leg bones and the foot.

Rins was examined at the Dexeus Institut by Dr. Xavier Mir, who diagnosed him with a partial fracture. Rins is due to have another scan on Monday to determine the extent of the injury, and how it is recovering, but the injury does put his participation in the Argentinian GP at Termas de Rio Hondo in doubt. 

Recovery times for full fractures of the talus bone are long: up to 12 weeks for normal humans, which in racer terms generally equates to half that. If the injury is not too severe, he may be able to make a tentative start in Argentina, and will almost certainly be fit for Austin.

The press release issued by the Suzuki ECSTAR includes a tweet sent out by the team, which helpfully includes a diagram of exactly which bone the Talus is.