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Casey Stoner says that his ankle will never be the same after his incident at Indianapolis three weeks ago.
Stoner’s final MotoGP season was thrown into ruin when he came off his Honda during qualifying at the ‘Brickyard,’ tearing ligaments in his right foot.
The 26-year-old Australian is now recovering at home in regional New South Wales after undergoing specialist surgery to repair the torn ligaments and remove bone fragments.
Having already confirmed that he will retire from motorcycle racing at the end of this year, Stoner says that he is not going to call an early end to his career, but admits that his ankle will never have the strength that it used to enjoy.
“My goal is to get back on the bike, for it to end like this would be a disaster for me,” Stoner said.
“I’ll see it through to the end. I’ll be back as soon as I can to finish as many races as I can before the end of the season.
“Even now with the operation, with the damage done, my ankle probably is never going to be back to 100 percent.”
Before Stoner gets back on the bike, he faces an intense period of recovery and physiotherapy.
Stoner is hopeful of being fit for his home race, the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, in 50 days time.
“I’ve still got a season to finish, I’ve still got a job to do and career to see through,” Stoner said.
In seven seasons of MotoGP, Stoner has so far won 37 Grands Prix and two World Championships. On race wins he is level with legendary British rider Mike Hailwood.
The next event on the MotoGP calendar will be at San Marino this weekend.
