RJ Hampshire | Recovering From Knee Surgery
Share
Another rider has taken advantage of the “midseason break.” On Thursday morning, RJ Hampshire announced that he had undergone surgery to repair the damage done to his knee in a December practice crash, citing the uncertain timeline for professional racing to resume as his reason for going under the knife now and not in the offseason as he originally planned.
Hampshire kept the crash under wraps during the offseason, but when it was time for the start of the 250 East Coast region, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider stated that he dabbed his foot during a routine practice day at the Baker’s Factory and jammed the handlebar into the top of his knee. The incident resulted in a complete tear to the ACL, multiple tears in the meniscus, and fractures to the tibia bone in his leg. Though painful, Hampshire was told by doctors that he could continue to race because it wouldn’t result in any more damage; he contested the 250 East Coast region and with three top-five finishes through four rounds, was ranked third overall in the championship standings.
With the Monster Energy Supercross Series on hold until September at the earliest and the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship set to start in June, Hampshire made the decision to get fixed now and will spend the next few weeks recovering. It’s worth noting that Hampshire traveled to the Vanderbilt Orthopaedics Franklin medical office in Tennessee for the procedure, as the group provides healthcare to the Nashville Predators team and all of athletics at Vanderbilt University.
The timeline for an ACL repair is a few months, at the minimum, so it’s likely that Hampshire will miss the start of the outdoor series. Had he waited until Supercross after wrapped up in October, as is currently planned by Feld Entertainment, he would have delayed his preparations for the 2021 season.
