Ken Roczen Details Shoulder Injury in Instagram Post: “I Just Have to Show Up... Race and Hope That It Recovers”

On Saturday at the tenth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, we learned Ken Roczen was dealing with a shoulder injury—a separated AC joint. After Roczen pulled out of the second quaifying session before it had ended, the Race Day Live broadcast crew announced the German native was dealing with a shoulder injury he suffered in a practice crash the Friday during the off weekend. After the race, Roczen and his team manager Larry Brooks shared some insight on his injury.
While Roczen was one of the riders in attendance for Friday's pre-race media day interview window and riding session (only a few sections of the track), he did not note the injury at all. This afternoon, Roczen took to Instagram to explain the injury further in depth. Roczen said he did not want to talk about the injury because he "didn’t want to pre set my weekend with negativity while i didn’t even know how it’s going to be for riding."
He finished 4-6-4 for fifth overall on the night in Alabama and leaves third in the championship behind Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton.
Roczen's Instagram post:
On Friday the 14th i ran out of talent for a quick second and separated my AC joint in my right shoulder.
I didn’t talk about it because i didn’t want to pre set my weekend with negativity while i didn’t even know how it’s going to be for riding.
I wanted to ride press day because i needed time on the bike and i needed to feel out the shoulder. It felt weak and painful with certain movements.
My shoulder was a bit worse than on press day for the first practice so i was really just doing the jumps that were the easiest and least amount of stress.
After doing a couple hot laps for the first time in Q1 my shoulder got worse the more stress i put on it. Thinking that Q2 was going to be quicker as per usual. I went out and i jumped into the whoops and i somehow ended up wheel tapping and it janked my bike and my shoulder got a massive stinger so i retired for that one.
I didn’t have much leverage as my right elbow was tucked into my body for riding so i couldn’t really correct or if i did it really hurt.
None the less, race time is the only thing that matters so i went into the night show and was fired up about racing.
In race 1 I had to pull up in a rhythm lane to triple one time and it really hurt my shoulder. It made my shoulder feel weaker and more limp.
Race 2 went average and for Race 3 i really wanted to put my head down one more time and put it as far up front as i could.the
I cased the triple a bit across from the finish going into the turn and it just smashed my shoulder pretty good again. I ended up bringing it home in 4th. The triple crown was the worst situation for it as well but i m glad they are now done.
It absolutely sucks that the situation is the way it is but we pull through as we always do.
It’s really stressed from the weekend so for now i just have to show up on the weekends and race and hope that it recovers decently from week to week.
Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | Newport, NC ![]() | 211 |
2 | ![]() | La Moille, IL ![]() | 203 |
3 | ![]() | Mattstedt, Germany ![]() | 184 |
4 | ![]() | Haines City, FL ![]() | 162 |
5 | ![]() | Cold Spring Harbor, NY ![]() | 160 |