Honda HRC announced today that Tim Gajser will miss the Grand Prix of Russia this weekend due to a broken shoulder blade sustained in a crash at the Grand Prix of Germany. The injury also led Gajser to withdraw from the Grand Prix of France on May 28.

The defending world champion has had a string of crashes in recent weeks, the first at the Grand Prix of Latvia, then at Germany, which resulted in his shoulder injury.

Per the team, Gajser had been treated by a specialist in his home country of Slovenia and will continue to receive treatment in the coming weeks. The team hopes he can return at the Italian Grand Prix on June 25.

“This is something I was really trying to avoid as I really do not want to miss any races. Unfortunately, my shoulder injury is a little worse than we first realized, so I have to accept that I can’t race this weekend in Russia,” said Gajser in a team statement. “I want to make sure it is fully recovered before I come back. I will really miss racing in Russia, especially as it is the first race over there since 2012. I just want to say I am sorry to my fans, sponsors, team, Honda, and all the other people who help me be where I am. In terms of my recovery we all agree that it is the right decision, and one thing I can say is that I will come back stronger!”

Gajser is currently 86 points back of MXGP points leader Antonio Cairoli through nine rounds.