John Hopkins continues to suffer in Phillip Island

American John Hopkins has admitted he is struggling severely with the pain from his damaged left ankle at the end of the second day of testing in Phillip Island, Australia.

The factory Kawasaki rider is being troubled by the pain caused by a metal plate in his ankle, which he had inserted following a 175mph crash during practice for the Dutch GP in Assen back in June.

The 25-year-old found it difficult to put pressure onto the footpegs of his ZX-RR during acceleration out of the turns and used extensive strapping on his ankle during his 51 laps around the Phillip Island circuit.

“I am suffering quite badly with the pain from my ankle, as I just can’t put weight on the pegs when accelerating out of the turns. We’ve done a lot of icing and strapping, but it’s still very painful to ride.

“This test is important for us, and today we’ve spent a lot of time testing tyres using the same set-up we had in Valencia, as this gives us a reference point. We’re not chasing lap times at the minute, particularly with having an injury, but we’ve definitely found some interesting results and gathered the all-important data we need.

“Hopefully with a bit more rest we can get out on track tomorrow for the last time this year to conclude our test with plenty of laps under our belt.”