Another championship contender in the 250MX Class is out of the hunt due to injury.
Zach Osborne is expected to be sidelined for at least eight weeks after tearing a ligament in his thumb at Glen Helen. The GEICO Honda rider will have surgey on it this week.
Earlier in the week, it was announced that Dean Wilson faces an “uncertain” timetable for recovery after cutting the back of his knee pretty bad in a crash at Glen Helen. Wilson was one of the leading title contenders entering the season, while Osborne was expected to contend for moto wins at the very least following a strong 2013 season.
Osborne finished ninth in the opening moto at Glen Helen before dropping out of the second moto following a first-turn crash in which the thumb injury occurred.
Release from the GEICO Honda team:
CORONA, Calif.– GEICO Honda’s Zach Osborne will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, which he injured in the second moto of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season opener Saturday in San Bernardino, Calif. He is expected to miss a minimum of eight weeks
“I’ll try to get a few rounds in at the end of the season,” a disappointed Osborne said from his home in Abingdon, Va. “I’m really bummed because I was ready to fight for the championship this year. Practice had been going great and I’ve felt good on the bike.
“It happened in the first turn of the second moto when everyone got stacked up. It’s a high-speed area and I was riding my line, but someone came across my front and took my bike out. My momentum carried me forward over the bars and just ripped my thumb all the way back. There really wasn’t anything I could do.”
Doctors tell Osborne he won’t be able to ride again for at least six weeks, but he’s determined to push his rehabilitation as hard as possible so he can return to action.
