TT hero Ian Hutchinson suffers new injury setback
Thursday 02 February 2012
TT
Isle of Man TT hero Ian Hutchinson has suffered a broken bone in his left leg, with just four months to go until the 2012 Isle of Man TT fuelled by Monster Energy.
Hutchy, who was forced to miss all but one race of the 2011 season after suffering a serious leg injury short circuit racing in 2010, is expected to leave hospital in Coventry in the next few days according to his team boss.
Swan Yamaha boss Shaun Muir said the new fracture was away from the previous breaks.
He added:
“He will have an external fixator fitted and hopes to be released from hospital as soon as possible.”
According to reports, Hutchinson was injured when he twisted his leg awkwardly whiles riding an off-road bike in rehearsals for his appearance at the Carole Nash MCN Motorcycle show at Excel in London.
Motor Cycle News quoted an eye-witness as saying:
“He didn’t crash, he appeared to tweak his leg and that was apparently enough to break it.”
“He was clearly in an enormous amount of pain.”
Hutchinson made history in 2010 when he won all five solo TT races, bringing his tally to eight. However, in September that year he sustained severe leg injuries in a crash at Silverstone.
He underwent 16 operations and a long period of rehabilitation before making his much-anticipated return at the challenging Macau Grand Prix in November. Despite being one of the most demanding circuits, Hutchinson was on the pace and brought his Swan Yamaha home in third place.
This season he is due to ride in the British Superbike Championship alongside reigning champion Tommy Hill as well as return to the TT.