Jack Miller Breaks Leg In Training Accident, To Miss Motegi

By David Emmett | Mon, 02/10/2017 - 17:29

The 2017 season has claimed another training victim. This time, Jack Miller is the victim of misfortune, the Australian breaking his right leg while out trials riding in Andorra.

Miller was relatively fortunate, in that he suffered the injury at very low speed, putting his foot down trying to save the front end from washing out. However, his foot got stuck, causing the tibia to fracture just below the knee. He was taken to the Dexeus Institut in Barcelona, where a plate and eight screws were fitted, to pin the bone fragments back together again.

Miller already has some movement in the leg, promising a speedy recovery. However, he will not be fit in time for the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi on 15th October. Miller has chosen to focus instead on his home Grand Prix at Phillip Island a week later, and is concentrating his efforts on recovering for that race.

The Marc VDS Racing team is unlikely to field a replacement at Motegi, with the prospect of Miller making a return at Phillip Island. The press release from the team appears below:

Training accident rules Miller out of Motegi

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS MotoGP rider Jack Miller will not race in the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, after fracturing the tibia in his right leg in a training accident on Friday.

Miller was training on a trials bike near his European base in Andorra and fractured the top of the tibia when he put his right foot down to save a slow speed front-end crash.

The Australian immediately travelled to the Hospital Universitari Dexeus in Barcelona, where he underwent surgery on Saturday morning. A plate and eight screws were inserted to stabilise the fracture.

Miller already has some mobility in the injured leg, but will head back to Andorra today to start an intense program of physiotherapy designed to get him back on the bike for the Australian Grand Prix, which takes place at Phillip Island in just over two weeks time.

Jack Miller:

"Obviously I'm both disappointed and frustrated to have to sit out the Japanese Grand Prix through an injury sustained while training, especially as it wasn't even a crash! We were out trials riding and I put a foot down when I lost traction from the front tyre. Nine times out of ten that would have been the end of the story, especially at such a low speed, but this time I must have caught my foot on something and ended up fracturing my right tibia close to the knee. The injury has been stabilised with a plate and screws and I already have some movement, but it's clear that I won't be fit for Motegi. However, I am determined to be back on the bike at Phillip Island and that's what I'll be working towards now with the physiotherapist."

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal

"Jack was extremely unfortunate to end up with a fractured tibia from such a seemingly innocuous incident; it was just bad luck. The timing is also unfortunate, as we're about to head overseas for three races in as many weekends, but Jack is adamant that he will miss only next weekend's Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi. His aim is to be back on the bike for his home race at Phillip Island and the prognosis is good. He will work now with a physiotherapist to increase mobility in the injury and, together with his doctors, we will make a decision on whether he is fit to ride in Phillip Island immediately after the Japanese Grand Prix."

Motegi, Japan
Honda
Jack Miller
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Comments

Not "can't," rather far down the continuum from what is best. At least this one isn't dangerous relative to some others. Eye rolling at how press releases always call whatever a rider gets injured doing "injury while training." Everything but Cal cutting parmesan so far.

It is really is unfortunate to have these riders go down in training incidents. But while there are those that wonder why they do such dangerous things and jeopardize their rides and livelihoods just to train, one must ask what else they can do from a training perspective to further sharpen their riding skillsets without actually being on a bike?  Not training is certainly not an option. At present there is nothing that I am aware of that can substitiute the feeling and sensation of being on a motorcycle. I'm sure alternatives have been looked at before, but the fact that riders are still training on bikes tells me that nothing valid has been found yet.   

It's the classic risk/reward scenario, and sometimes things go wrong. Just rotten luck for Jack. I hope he heals quickly.    

Hopefully Jack can be fit in time for his home round.  There arent too many Aussies to support in MotoGP these days, the crowd cant really afford to lose its main draw.

David, any idea how similar the injury was to Rossi's?  Does the fact that they used a different fixing technique mean the injuries were not similar?  does a plate and screws mean less support?

I imagine that if he does make a miraculous recovery and races at his home grand prix, equals his normal race position and manages that all in less days recovery time than Rossi did, that he will get just as much recognition and adulation from the media and fans alike..............  (now, how do I insert a rolly eye emoticon...?) 

Phillip Island and other tracks may have gained security in keeping their dates, if Spain only hosts two dates next year.
Maybe David Emmett can do a write-up on whether or not Dorna has contingency plans if Catalunya and Arágon have to be cancelled due to civil strife or even civil war?  Also, have any of the Catalonian riders taken a public stand on the issue of secession from Spain?

A complicated situation. It would be more likely that the Iberian peninsula has just a single GP, in Barcelona, as Dorna is very much a Catalonian company, rather than a Spanish one. The language spoken internally is Catalan, not Spanish.

Having said that, Dorna has contracts with the circuits to host races, and as the fact that they continue to race in Qatar and Argentina, and are going to race in Thailand show, political instability is not an obstacle.

Finally, most riders are keeping their heads beneath the parapet. The one exception being Aleix Espargaro, though even he has been careful to point out that he supports the right to vote, and not necessarily independence itself.

As I understand it, this injury is less severe than Rossi's. Rossi's tibia had to be pinned, as it was a displaced fracture (ends of the bone had come apart. This sounds more like a fracture which isn't displaced. But I would need to check first.

Nicky Hayden replaced Miller last year on a Marc VDS Honda as a one-off so couldn't Bradl be drafted in this time? No calendar clash with WorldSBK and Motegi is a Honda-owned track. Would make sense to have coverage.

It would be interesting to know out of all the riders just how many actually get injured in training. It seems to me like a very low overall percentage but when they do get injured they don't do it by half!