Vermeulen misses rest of season to go under knife
Added on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Vermeulen misses rest of season to go under knife
Chris Vermeulen will miss the rest of the World Superbike season as he prepares to undergo keyhole surgery in Barcelona on Friday.
The Australian, who has endured a nightmare year on his return to WSB, will go under the knife on Friday and sit out the remainder of the season in preparation for 2011.
The former Suzuki MotoGP man missed two rounds at the start of this year after crashes in the opening round at Philip Island and has struggled for fitness ever since, scoring points in just five races from 14 starts this season.
Those fitness problems were exacerbated by a crash in Brno last weekend and the Kawasaki Racing Team rider attended several consultations last week with a renowned sports surgeon, Dr Pruna in Barcelona, where he underwent further scans to analyze the extent of his complicated right-knee injury. The decision was made for Chris to undergo key-hole surgery to repair the two of the three damaged ligaments, providing the stability in the knee that has been such a problem for Chris over the last few months.
“The decision to sit out of the remainder of the 2010 race and test season was a mutual one from both me and the team,” said Vermeulen. “It is only too apparent that I have not been able to recuperate from my right knee injury sustained at Phillip Island and the crash in Brno further set me back.
“The team have been patient with my slow recovery but it is not in my best interest or the teams to continue with the lack of progress we’ve made in a championship which is so competitive, even when you are 100% fit.
“I have sought expert medical advice in Barcelona this week where the specialists have advised I have key-hole surgery to clean-up the damaged ligaments. I have been informed that I will be able to walk soon after but I’ll have to undergo extensive physiotherapy for at least two months so we will be based in Andorra for the time being! I will keep you posted after the operation via my website. ”
Akira Yanagawa will replace Vermeulen for the Silverstone round of the championship.
