JASON Doyle has revealed he did not go under the knife at the end of the 2018 season, meaning a metal plate remains in his foot almost two years after his horror crash in Poland.
Australian Doyle sustained three broken bones in his foot when crashing out of Torun’s home meeting against Zielona Gora in the Polish Ekstraliga in June 2017.
That crash plunged Doyle’s world championship winning aspirations into doubt, but the plucky racer defied odds to land his first world title four months after his spill in Melbourne, Australia.
Contrary to reports, Doyle said he had no operation at the end of the season – adding that he has been running comfortably for two months ahead of Swindon Robins’ opening SGB Premiership meeting on April 11 against Belle Vue Aces.
Doyle, a supporter of Adrian Flux’s ‘Flux Fridays’ events, said: “I didn’t have any operations at the end of the season.
“I did an interview in October and I said I’d think about getting the plate out, but I didn’t have that operation. So the metal is still in my foot.
“My foot is good, well as good as it could be after smashing it to pieces.
“I’ve been running on it for nearly two months now. I had to do a lot of running off the treadmill and on the road instead, but it’s feeling good.”
Fitness has been established as a key part of pre-season for all riders, and Doyle said weight loss is also impacting some routines.
Last season, Wolverhampton heat leader Sam Masters voiced his belief that lighter riders are benefitting on slick tracks that require less technique.
While Doyle shared his compatriot’s view to an extent, the 2017 world champion said a brutal travel schedule means he must feel at a comfortable weight throughout the season.
He added: “The big craze at the moment with a lot of riders is to get as light as possible.
“But when I’ve done that before, I used to get sick on the plane journeys all the time.
“I’m guessing from the air condition because you get the flu and all the bugs when your immune system’s down.
“So personally I’m trying to get in that happy-medium place; sit at the right weight for myself and also be healthy.
“What has changed is we don’t have a beer at the bar with the fans after a meeting anymore, which is a shame.
“Now we normally go straight to Sweden or Poland after our home or away matches - so we don’t have that time to party and go out with the fans.
“But it has become a sport that now puts a lot of attention on fitness.”
By: Shaun Reynolds @95_reynolds
Chief sports writer
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