Cal Crutchlow ruptures ankle ligaments in Barcelona

Cal Crutchlow, aiming to make his MotoGP return in Barcelona this weekend, has suffered an ankle injury after slipping at the Circuit de Catalunya on Wednesday.

It's the third different injury this season for the Englishman, who fractured his left scaphoid bone at the Jerez opener, then was forced to miss both Misano rounds due to complications following extensive arm-pump surgery to his right forearm.

A statement from the LCR Honda team explained that Crutchlow, who had struggled with post-surgery fluid build-up in his right arm, had earlier gone to see Dr. Xavier Mir (who carried out the surgery) for a final check on his right forearm: "The scar appears to be healing and is in much better condition than last week."

But a bizarre accident followed when Crutchlow went for his pre-event Covid test…

"Unfortunately, upon his arrival to Circuit de Catalunya, Crutchlow slipped as he stepped out of the PCR Testing Booth, rupturing his left ankle’s ligaments as confirmed by Dr. Max Ibañez, member of Dr. Mir’s team," read the LCR Honda statement.

"Nevertheless, despite this misfortune, Cal and the team will try their best to regularly start the Catalan GP on Friday."

Crutchlow starts the second-half of his final season with LCR Honda having scored just seven points so far this year.