Jake Nicholls will be out of action for longer than first thought after it’s been discovered he fractured his shoulder blade in his crash last month. The Crendon Honda rider missed the opening two rounds of the British championship after hurting his shoulder in the run up to the first event.

The break was not diagnosed and Nicholls has been riding – although in a lot of pain – in a bid to het back to race fitness. It now seems he’ll be off the bike for another month.

He said: “Following further consultation last week, I was informed yesterday that I have a fractured shoulder blade. Pretty embarrassing that this was missed to start with but we put our trust in surgeons who are all so professional, but they don’t always get it right.

“No doubt me riding a handful of times 4-5 weeks after the crash hasn’t helped the situation either but I was trying my hardest to be ready without being aware of the damage I was causing and after years of being a professional athlete and enduring well over 40 broken bones, it’s amazing how good you become at tricking your mind and body when you need to.

“I’m not going to lie it’s been a really tough few weeks mentally with not knowing what was going on, getting better then getting worse, missing the start of the series, missing one of my local national rounds and favourite tracks… I’m fortunate to have the work to keep me focused and somewhat on track.

“Whenever I get injured I always try to redirect my drive and focus, I am an obsessive person who needs a sport or a hobby to draw all my attention, at 31 yrs old I still sit and watch mx videos all night…. I splashed some cash on a new bicycle recently which has helped no end for me to distribute all my energy outside of the daily grind and on the weekends, as well as raising my level of fitness which will aid my return to racing.

“Bit of clarity now though, I can work to getting back on a bike in 4 weeks and from there on out do my absolute best, as always.”