Cal Crutchlow ‘big mistake’ verdict shared on ‘hobbling’ Alex Rins
Cal Crutchlow's thoughts on Alex Rins' recovery from injury shared at the Qatar MotoGP
Alex Rins was at the bottom of the timesheets in the wet practice on Friday at the Qatar MotoGP.
But more concerningly, he has been seen inside the paddock limping although he has claimed he feels no pain from last year’s broken leg when he is on a motorcycle.
Rins has swapped LCR Honda for Yamaha for the 2024 MotoGP season but a theory has been shared about his recovery time from the injury he sustained last year.
“I walked behind him,” Neil Hodgson said on TNT Sports. “His leg is a funny shape. He looks really uncomfortable.
“I talked to Cal Crutchlow at the end of last year. He had a similar injury from Phlilip Island when he crashed at the first corner.
“Cal had seen [Rins’] x-ray. After the operation he was talking to Rins about it.
“Cal was basically saying ‘I think he has made a big mistake, he has rushed back too soon’.
“And, I’ve got to say, it looks like again Cal was right, unfortunately.
“Think when he crashed, it’s a long time ago, at Mugello last year.
“He’s here, hobbling around, like he broke it two months ago.”
Crutchlow, the veteran Yamaha test rider, broke an ankle in Australia in 2018 - a similar injury to the one sustained by Rins last year.
Crutchlow would admit a year later that he was still haunted by his injury.
Rins fractured his tibia and fibula last May in Italy.
His recovery was so lengthy that it forced him to get married last year while in a wheelchair, needing crutches.
After multiple surgeries, Rins has returned for the season-opening round of MotoGP but it seems like the lingering issues of his broken leg might not be behind him yet.
