In a 20-minute interview with Swap Moto Live’s Donn Maeda, Eli Tomac shared details about the leg injury he sustained at the Tampa Supercross round
The Colorado native suffered the injury during the second qualifying session of the fifth round when his left foot hit the ground while exiting a turn and approaching a jump. This incident forced him to cut his session short, but he still participated in both his heat race (finishing seventh) and the 450SX main event (placing 17th), despite having to navigate the whoops using only his right leg on the pegs for most of the race. On Tuesday, February 11, it was confirmed that Tomac had fractured his left fibula (the smaller, outer shin bone) and would be sidelined for the immediate future. Remarkably, he had competed in the night show with a broken leg.
In the interview released today, Tomac explained that his broken leg was initially overlooked when he visited the Alpinestars medical truck because he believed the injury was in his ankle, which led to the actual break higher up on his leg being missed. He took responsibility for this oversight, emphasizing it was not the fault of the medical team.
Tomac admitted he sensed something was wrong during the race but pushed through the pain. “Of course, the pain level was ridiculous during that main event,” he said. After realizing on Sunday that his leg was still severely sore, he sought further evaluation and discovered the fracture. He underwent surgery on Friday, February 14, to have a plate inserted and is currently using crutches as he recovers.
One of the biggest takeaways from the interview was Tomac’s determination to return before the AMA Pro Motocross Championship opener. He hopes to participate in a few Supercross rounds before then. He mentioned that his six-week checkup will be a key milestone, and if all goes well, he expects to resume training without restrictions. “I have a realistic chance of coming back for the last few Supercross rounds,” he said. “If things go as planned, I don’t see any reason why I couldn’t race those last few rounds.”
“My goal right now is to get more gate drops before motocross,” he added. “I want to make the last couple, or a few, Supercross rounds.”
We will continue to provide updates on his status as those Supercross rounds approach. A big thanks to Maeda for securing this insightful interview with the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider. Be sure to check out the full interview for more details.
