Austin Forkner | Knee Injury Update
Share
2019 EAST RUTHERFORD SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE
Austin Forkner has announced the full extent of his knee injury from the 2019 Nashville Supercross, and yeah, it’s just as serious as one would expect. With a chance at the championship, the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team and Forkner did all that they could to keep him on the track for the final rounds of the 250 East Coast region, but a mistake in the early laps of the 250 Main Event jarred the injured joint and he was forced to pull off. On Tuesday, Forkner took to social media with a video that outlined the entire situation, including the damage, his outlook on racing in East Rutherford, and his confidence for 2020.
“The extent of my knee was a fully torn ACL. Not a half tear, not a quarter tear. It was fully torn and that’s a big difference,” he said in an Instagram video. “Fully torn is tough and there is no stability. I also tore my meniscus and I think a slight tear and beat up MCL. I also chipped some cartilage off of my femur and had a massive bone bruise from where the tib-fib (tibia-fibula, bones in the lower leg) and femur clanked together.
“It popped out a few times in practice and it was really sore,” he continued. “Honestly, I could barely even walk going to the gate for the races. What you saw in the Heat Race was as fast as I could go and the best I could ride with my knee in control, with me having control of my knee and without it pop out, with my knee how I wanted it to be. That was as fast as I could go.
“Going up to the line, me and Rylee pretty much had a talk along with the guys on the team and had to make up my mind if I wanted to ride around in 12th place or if I wanted to say, ‘It’s now or never and let’s make it happen, let’s send it. If my knee can’t take it, it can’t take it and I’m done.’ And that’s pretty much what I did.
“I was absolutely sending it as you saw, I was smashing guys on the first lap, I sent it into the first turn. I didn’t really care. I feel like some people are talking about, ‘Oh, the passes were dirty.’ I heard some podium stuff being said. But I don’t care. It was a three-point championship battle, two races left and my knee is jacked up. You’ve got to expect that stuff is going to happen. I was hanging it out, sending it, going for it. That’s all I have to say about that. I sent it as hard as I could until my knee couldn’t take it.
“Whenever I jumped and landed into the face of the wall, the thing just buckled. At that point, there is no kind of knee brace that’s going to save it, because that’s what your ACL is supposed to do and it’s gone. Obviously, I’m super bummed and I don’t have a lot to say.”
Forkner then showed a clip of his knee clicking every time it moved, an example of what it would do every time he changed his body position on the motorcycle. “It was clicking a lot and was really uncomfortable. I’m going to get it fixed this week or next week, I’m not exactly sure yet. Obviously, I’m out for Vegas and the rest of the year.
“I want to give a massive shoutout to Doc G. In the three weeks between Nashville and New York, we put in so much rehab and did everything we could do to get my knee as good as it could be, but it wasn’t enough. When your knee is that messed up, there’s only so much you can do it and it could take it. To everybody on my team, my mechanic Olly, my family, and everybody for the support, I have seen you being super supportive of the situation and I want to say thank you to everybody.
“We’ll be back in 2020 Supercross. I’m already itching to ride again and I haven’t even gotten surgery yet. It’s going to be a long recovery, but I’ll be seeing you guys in a few months.
“Also, the way that I did by going out there, sending it, doing my best, and giving it all that I had was a much better way than riding around in 10th or 12th and watching myself lose the championship. I gave it all that I had, my knee couldn’t take it. My confidence going into next season is good. Just knowing that with a hurt knee for the first four laps of that race, I was beating all of the guys I was racing with for the championship. I know that, they know it. They’re going to remember it next season.”
We have been told by Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki that a fill-in rider for the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship is unlikely.
