Long, who broke his scaphoid in his wrist over the Christmas period, has been racing the first two rounds of the championship in considerable pain but has made the wise decision to let his wrist heal properly before returning to racing.
“After the Appin round I went to see my doctor regarding my wrist and while structurally it is fine and the scaphoid has healed well, the ligament damage around the area still needs time to recover and with the week to week riding, training and racing we are in at the moment, any recovery has been slowed and halted by the continual use.
“If I continued to ride, I would only continue to damage the ligament and tissue around the bone and therefore prolong the injury.
“I’m gutted that I’m in this situation but myself and the CDR Yamaha team both agree I need to take the time off, let me wrist heal properly before returning to racing,” Long explains.
Long has toughed it out at the opening two rounds and sits just outside the top 10 in points despite racing with his injury. The injury was always a race against time to make round one but it was clear that he wasn’t at 100% but the best plan for the talented Victorian racer is to take the time to get his body 100% before returning to race.
“Dylan is extremely disappointed by this but it is the right step to take and we need to ensure his wrist is right before his return,” states team manager, Craig Dack. “He is in his early 20’s and the risk of long term damage to his wrist isn’t worth him racing right now.
“Our advice from his doctors is to give him four weeks off the bike and therefore a likely return would be at Nowra for the second half of the championship where we can then see his true potential and have him up the front and racing at his best,” Dack ends.
Round three of the MX Nationals fires up this weekend at the picturesque Conondale Circuit on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Long’s team mate, and reigning champion, Dean Ferris currently leads the premier MX1 division after the opening two rounds and with Conondale being a favourite track of his, he is looking to keep the good form flowing.
“I have had a good couple of weeks of riding and training so I look forward to another good result at Conondale. The track is always good to ride and the crowd can get nice and close to the action making for a great atmosphere. I hope to see everyone there,” Ferris ends.
