Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Matthias Walkner is recovering well after surgery to recover from an injury to his left leg sustained during training in the United States but, according to the latest information, the damage is more extensive than initially thought and the rider will miss the Dakar Rally, which starts in January.
The damage suffered is such that the Austrian will not be able to compete in the Dakar Rally in January, as he won the 2018 edition.
In a statement, the Austrian’s team revealed: While training with the team on December 5, Matthias Walkner unfortunately fell from his KTM 450 RALLY, which resulted in him breaking his tibia, fibula, and ankle joint. Flown to the hospital in Palm Springs, Walkner underwent a successful surgery to repair the damage. The 2018 Dakar Rally Champion will require a further surgery in due course, which he hopes to have carried out at home in Austria’.
This is a major blow for the team, just like Andreas Hölzl – Rally Team Manager, said: ‘It’s been a very difficult few days for the team here in the United States. Training for the Dakar had been going extremely well, with all riders working very hard. Kevin damaged his leg last Sunday, but thankfully, it wasn’t too bad. We hope he will be back to near full fitness by Dakar. On Monday, Matthias had a nasty crash while training, which ended up in him having several fractures’.
And added: ‘The surgery went really well, and they have attached a fixator to his left leg to help the recovery. But he will require more surgery, once the swelling starts to go down. Obviously, these two incidents have been a massive blow to the team, but we will continue to look ahead and do all we can to be as strong as possible for Dakar. The whole team wishes both Matthias and Kevin a quick and full recovery’.