SUPERBIKE STAR EUGENE Laverty has spoken of his initial fears following the crash which saw him airlifted to a Bangkok hospital last weekend.

The Antrim man came off his bike during the opening laps of Sunday’s Superbike World Championship round in Buriram, Thailand, and was struck by another rider as he slid across the tarmac.

He fractured his pelvis in two places, and also needed a “small operation” to repair the internal injuries he sustained, ruling him out of action for the next two months.

The 31-year-old is already targeting a return at the UK round in Donington Park at the end of May.

“I’m obviously very disappointed that I will be forced to miss some races so early in the season but I count myself lucky that my injuries are not worse,” he said in a short message posted on Twitter.

The initial fear of lying on the ground and not being able to move my legs was something that I’ve never felt before.

“I’m very fortunate to have a fantastic group of people around me from my wife Pippa, my brother John who reacted fantastically during the key hours after the crash, and the entire Milwaukee Aprilia team who joined me in the hospital to make sure that I was in good hands.

“Due to my internal injuries I will be restricted in the first month of my recovery but following that we will push hard to ensure that my pelvis heals and I’m aiming to get back on the bike at my home round at Donington Park.”