Pol Espargaro injury update: “Eight fractures, lost weight; finally I can smile”
The Tech3 GASGAS rider fell on the first Friday of the season and has missed every race since, and could yet be sidelined until August due to the severity of the broken jaw, back injuries and lung issues he suffered.
But his first words since the accident were a welcome update on his health.
“Hi everyone! Finally I’m back on social media,” he said.
“It’s been a month and week after the crash and I can talk a little bit.
“I’m saying that because I broke my jaw in two places, I’ve been with my jaw completely closed for four weeks after the crash, I couldn’t eat.
“I lost a lot of weight but finally I can smile and I can talk quite good so that’s why I making this message.
“Also I had an injury in my ear that had surgery after the crash.
“I had eight fractures in my body, two in my ribs, one in my neck, three in my back which I think are taking a little bit longer because the fractures in my back are the ones the doctors are still checking a little bit deeply.
“One is better but I’ve lost half of the size.
“So you know what happens when you play with these kind of injuries, in the vertebrae you need to be really careful because it’s super easy to injure your spinal cord.
“So we are working with the doctors hand by hand to come back as soon as possible, but first of all I need to come back healthy, but I’m the first one that wants to jump on the bike.
“Especially after the results in Jerez, the factory is working huge and the bike is a rocket right now so I’m looking forward to it.
“I just wanted to say thank you for all the messages you have sent me through that time, it has been so important to keep me motivated, and to keep me happy to come back as soon as possible and jump on my bike.
“Thanks to my team and all the people who are with me when I am racing because they have sent me messages almost every day and this is amazing from the GASGAS and the KTM guys.
“I don’t know when I’ll jump back on the bike honestly, I’m just going to keep you a little bit more updated than the last month and a half so yeah, thanks for all the messages, I love you so much.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
