Haslam battles for fitness after Nurburgring crash

Championship contender Leon Haslam faces a race against time to be fit for the penultimate round of the World Superbike Championship at Imola in 15 days time.

Haslam high sided his Alstare Suzuki on the opening lap of the first race at Nurburgring with his crash bringing out the red flags.

The 27 year old heroically got on his spare bike and made the restarted opening race to finish sixth before claiming an impressive race two podium.

After the race Haslam who sits second in the standing 58 points behind leader Max Biaggi returned to the UK where he underwent an MRI scan in London.

Speaking to MCN from his home in Como, Italy, Haslam said: “I’ve been better. I had an MRI scan in London on Wednesday and now I’m back in Italy. I’ve torn a ligament in my thumb so I’ve got a splint on that.

“My knee is the problem though, it was sore on Sunday after the race but it didn’t really swell up, but on Monday and Tuesday it just ballooned. I’ve damaged the MCL ligament and I’ve got a Forest Gump style splint that runs from my ankle to my hip.

“There is a possibility that I will need an operation but hopefully not. The operation would need two months of recovery so for now I’ve got to keep it straight and ice it a lot and hopefully it will feel a lot better by the time I get to Imola for the next race.”