John Hopkins - Photo Credit: Suzuki Racing
John Hopkins has undergone surgery in California to have the middle finger on his right hand amputated. The American has suffered numerous complications since injuring the finger at the Czech Republic MotoGP at Brno last August and his consultant decided this was the best option.
“I went to see my doctor for a progress report and the news was not great”, he commented. “It’s never good news when you have to lose a body part, but this was the best scenario all round because otherwise the situation could’ve dragged on for some time, with not necessarily a better result in the end.”
Hopkins has been preparing for a World Superbike campaign with Crescent Suzuki and doesn't expect the surgery to adversely affect his preparations.
“Apart from the actual pain of the surgery, I must say that it’s feeling better already. I now have about 10 days when I cannot do any physio, but then I can start again. This is a bit of a setback, but really not too bad because I have been training and getting fit for some time now, so my base level is very good. I’ll be able to train fully again soon and be able to get on a bike in three weeks, so I’m sure I’ll be ok for our first tests in Australia.”
“I know the bike well and I’ve raced at Phillip Island before, so at least I will not be starting from scratch. Our GSX-R1000 has a very good base setting and I am confident that we’re not going to be struggling at the start. The level of competition is tough for sure, but I think we’re going to be competitive right from the start.”
