JGR/Yoshimura Suzuki’s Justin Hill missed round five of Monster Energy AMA Supercross in San Diego last Saturday due to a crash in qualifying.

According to a team press release, Hill hit a hole in the whoops and smashed his rib cage into his handlebars. He visited the Alpinstars Mobile Medical Unit onsite to get the injury checked out. There was concern that Hill may have punctured his spleen, so he was sent to a nearby trauma center, where doctors determined Hill did not sustain a spleen injury.

Doctors did determine that Hill sustained cartilage damage to his ribs. According to the team, Hill’s status for round six in Minneapolis this Saturday will be determined at a later date.

“I had a blast in the mud for a few laps, before I hit a hole in the whoops that was hidden under standing water. I smashed my rib cage into the handlebars pretty badly, so I went to the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Rig to get checked out,” Hill said in a statement. “Unfortunately, there was a suspected puncture on my spleen that required a trip to a nearby trauma center. Results for my spleen came back negative. It turned out to be cartilage damage on my ribs. As soon as I can heal up from that I’ll be good to go.”

The 2017 250SX West Region Champion is off to a slow start to his rookie 450 campaign. Hill has yet to finish inside the top ten through five rounds and has also been dealing with a shoulder injury sustained in a qualifying crash at round four in Oakland. 

We will update his status for this weekend later in the week.

Below is Hill's crash during qualifying in Oakland.

[Update: Feb. 7]

JGR announced today that Hill will miss round six of the championship this Saturday in Minneapolis.

“I’ve spent the week so far in a lot of pain and have very limited movement, due to injuring my ribs at San Diego," Hill said in a statement. "It’s hard to picture racing when everyday things are this painful. Fortunately for me, I have every rehabilitation resource I could have at my fingertips! I’m itching to get back on the bike and get the results I know that I’m capable of.”