Honda Racing’s Jason O’Halloran is currently undergoing extensive rehabilitation after suffering from a broken femur and hand, after a crash during the MCE British Superbike round at Thruxton, and with only three rounds to the end of the season the Australian admitted that he is 90 percent certain that he wont be back on the starting grid in 2015.
Now the target for the racer is to get back fully fit to be ready and rearing to go for the 2016 season. He only came out of hospital a few weeks ago and since then has been in the Hyperbaric Chamber and taking part in hydrotherapy and physiotherapy sessions.
He has started going to the gym, but his left hand is still in a cast, and it was revealed that he broke his wrist in two places and tore the ligaments between his hand and thumb, and broke a knuckle too.
But the rehab is going well, and O’Halloran is feeling positive and he is making good progress and cant wait to get back riding a bike once again. He is firmly out of Showdown contention and now his priority is getting his body back to full working order.
“I have been fairly busy since I have come out of hospital and I did lose a lot of blood during surgery, and now I am out of hospital and have been home for three weeks and I have been having sessions in the Hyperbaric chamber, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and now I have started going to the gym,” said O’Halloran, speaking to bikesportnews.com.
“I broke my right femur in three separate places but they were clean breaks which is good. I was seven hours in surgery so it was a big op, and I was fortunately at Southampton hospital and they have a great trauma department. Then I have been to see a specialist who looked after me when I broke my left leg back in 2011, and he is happy with my progress and we are waiting for the bone to heal.
“At the minute I can safely say that I wont ride again this year, but that is not definite, but it is more or less 90 percent chance that I wont ride again this season. I don’t want to risk damage again, but I will be back to full confidence and fitness in 2016.
“But I also hurt my left hand, and a broke my knuckle, and I tore my hand and the ligaments by my thumb and that had to be sown back together, and I also broke two bones in my wrist - so there’s seven bones broken in total.
“Everything is going well and I have also been seeing a hand specialist and my cast comes off next week. When I broke my femur the pain was really bad, but now I don’t have any pain in it, but my issue is my knee, as it has got stiff. But this week is the first time that I can sit in the front of a car, and I can move it 70 degrees, so we are halfway with that but it is slow, slow steps but my body needs to recover.
“For me the worst possible thing to do at this moment in time is to go back out there and ride, and for me the Showdown is over. But I have so much respect for Stuart Easton, and any of us in Stuart’s position would have gone back out on track to do what he did as he was in with a chance of a Showdown place.”
O’Halloran would also like to thank the Simon Andrews Fund who have donated specialist equipment to speed up his recovery.
“I would like to say a big thank you to Dee and Claire and through the Simon Andrews Fund they have been able to purchase a machine, called an Exogen that I have at home. It helps with bone healing through ultrasound treatments, and the fund have donated that and I want to thank them for all their help.”
