Kiwi freestyle motocross star Levi Sherwood is set for an extended stay on the sidelines after injuring his ankle in a training accident.
The 26-year-old from Palmerston North broke calcaneus and talus in his left foot after coming unstuck on a move he calls a Cordoba Flip while practicing a month ago.
He had surgery to fix it up but has been ruled out of this year's X Games and is not likely to return to action until late in the year.
"It is all fixed up at the moment and healing back together no pun intended," Sherwood told Radio Sport.
"[I was] just practicing here at home. I was getting ready to go away for X Games – just a few weeks out from that – and just probably got a bit too complacent on one of the easier tricks I do and it went all wrong."
Sherwood posted spectacular footage of the incident on his Instagram account and it clearly shows him bail out of the flip and plummet to the ground as the bike takes off on him.
"It doesn't really do it justice the height of it from the drone – it was probably about 10 or 11m up," Sherwood explained. "The landing was probably about five metres so it wasn't a straight fall from that height."
The Red Bull-backed star is vowing not to try and come back too soon and risk complications.
"Hopefully towards the end of the year I will be back on my bike. I want to get back on my bike as soon as possibly I can but I also don't want to have any problems with my foot again so I will take my time and do it right."