Repsol Honda has just confirmed that reigning world champion Casey Stoner has suffered multiple chip fractures and torn “almost every ligament” in his right ankle.

The reining world champion crashed heavily in the opening ten minutes of qualifying at Indianapolis ahead of tomorrow’s MotoGP race at the famous speedway.

Stoner had been expected to battle for pole position but the Australian now faces a race against time to be declared fit to start the race from sixth position on the grid. The Australian has tweeted that he “will try and get some sleep and hopefully be OK for tomorrow.”

If Stoner is unable to race the championship momentum will have swung firmly in Jorge Lorenzo’s favour. The Spaniard leads Stoner by 32 points and Dani Pedrosa would become Lorenzo’s chief advisory as he battles for a second premier class crown.

Pedrosa will start the race from pole position.

Statement from Repsol Honda:

After today’s crash during qualifying practice for the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner was taken to the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for further check ups.

Casey had X-rays and an MRI scan on the right tibia and fibula, right ankle and right foot. It was confirmed he had suffered several small chipped bone fractures, a 10mm fracture on the talar dome below the tibia and fibula, contusions to the anterior tibia, posterior tibia and medial malleolus, and soft tissue swelling around the ankle. He has also torn his deltoid, anterior talofibial, calcaneal and fibular ligaments in addition to a high ankle sprain.

Hospital staff strapped the ankle for protection through the night and Casey left the hospital at midnight. He will consult with the medical team in the morning to asses the situation and decide if he is able to ride the machine safely.

Casey Stoner“It’s the first time in my career that I haven’t been able to get up and walk away from an accident myself. As soon as I stood up, I looked down and saw my foot was at a strange angle to my leg. I had a shooting pain in my lower leg, then I felt a crack as my ankle popped back in. It was very painful and I was sure I had broken something. The local staff at the circuit Medical Centre were all very helpful and after taking some initial x-rays they agreed I should go to hospital for further checks. The team that looked after me at the Methodist Hospital were fantastic, so professional, attentive and incredibly helpful, I’d like to thank them all for taking good care of me. They confirmed that I had some chipped bone around my ankle and a sm all fracture, but I was concerned about the damage done to any ligaments so we did an MRI scan. This showed that I had torn almost every ligament in my ankle and heavily bruised my tibia. I need to see how I feel tomorrow morning to understand if I’m able to race. I am really disappointed as I felt we had the package for pole in this race and a strong chance for the win. Many other riders came off today, I hope they are ok. We’ll see how we feel in the morning and will do all we can to be on the grid.”

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