Pahiatua cross-country motorcycle ace Paul Whibley needs surgery on what has been diagnosed as a sports hernia.
Just when that will happen is yet to be confirmed but it is likely to be next month during the summer break in the Grand National Cross-country Championships (GNCC) in the UnitedStates.
Whibley is the defending champion in that event as well as the Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) series but a spate of injury hassles has had him struggling to make anything like the same impact this time round.
Early this season, Whibley broke a small bone in a hand and suffered concussion in a practice crash. But even before that, in February, he had strained his groin and it is that problem which has come back to haunt him.
"At the time it happened, it seemed like any other little injury that are commonplace in our sport," Whibley said.
"I rested it briefly and then got back into training but the pain and discomfort lingered and got worse as the season started to heat up. And it has progressively deteriorated ever since."
Whibley said it was now painful to grip the bike with his knees and he lacked the core strength to hold his position on the bike.
"It's more of a problem in muddy races and that's where my results have suffered most."
After visits to doctors and specialists, Whibley was given the news he was suffering a sports hernia and he went through a course of physical therapy which involved strengthening and flexibility work.
Unfortunately, however, that did not rectify the problem and he was told the next step was surgery, something which would come with a lengthy recovery time because it was a complicated operation.
The news was not only a blow to him but also to the many fans and supporters who had been pinning their hopes on him repeating the success of last season.
"With me knowing I can't deliver the results they want, it makes hard to stay positive. The hope is from here I can regroup and return to 100 per cent fitness for the 2014 season."
