Monster Energy Yamaha’s Romain Febvre was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation yesterday after a heavy crash in the second moto at the opening round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Argentina.
The 2015 MXGP World Champion won the qualifying race on Saturday and finished third to Antonio Cairoli and Tim Gajser in the opening moto on Sunday. Febvre led the opening five laps in the second MXGP moto before crashing in the roller section while running third.
Racer X European contributor Adam Wheeler said Febvre is being treated for a right ankle/foot injury. In a statement released yesterday, the team said it will release more information once they have it.
[Update: Monday, March 4]
Yamaha announced on Twitter today that Febvre has been cleared following his crash on Sunday. Per the team, Febvre will get a second opinion once he returns to Belgium.
@RFebvre461 is OK after his fall this weekend. He has been cleared in Argentina but will get a second opinion when he touches down in Belgium. We will update accordingly. pic.twitter.com/ZoT3cj07Me
— Yamaha Racing (@yamaharacingcom) March 4, 2019
Febvre also shared an update on his Instagram page, including a photo of his ankle, which is super swollen.
[Update: wednesday, March 6]
Yamaha announced today that an exam at the the University Hospital Antwerp (UZA) by orthopaedic specialist Dr. Geert Peersman confirmed that Romain Febvre sustained a broken Talus (ankle) in two places in his right ankle.
Febvre will undergo surgery on March 12 and recover time is expected to be six weeks after the operation.
"Sad news today. I broke the Talus bone in my ankle. I feel really sad, not only for myself but for my entire team and all of the people involved. This is how it is; these things are part of our sport. Now I need to focus on getting it fixed with an operation next Tuesday, and then I can start my rehabilitation. I will try to be back on the bike as soon as possible, right now they are saying around six weeks more or less, but even when I get back on the bike I will have lost a lot of time and physical condition with no training. I will see when I am back on the bike how things are going and what I am focusing on, until then I can not say too much. The main goal is to get my foot fixed."