Australian Karl Muggeridge will return to the Superbike World Championship with Castrol Honda this weekend at Silverstone in the UK.

Castrol Honda World Superbike Team regular Ruben Xaus has been forced to withdraw from this weekend’s ninth round of the championship due to injury.

Xaus will be replaced by Muggeridge, who last rode for the team in 2006. Muggeridge will join Alex Lowes, who is himself standing in for the Castrol Honda team’s other injured rider Jonathan Rea.

“I was actually on holiday with the family in Italy when the call came through from Ronald, but I’m really happy to get this opportunity to join the team again,” Muggeridge said. “I actually rode for the Castrol Honda British Supersport team way back when, so it’s good to be back with that iconic racing name again, too.

“The World Superbike paddock is a place where I feel completely at home, but there’s definitely a big job ahead for the weekend. I don’t want to set any unrealistic targets, and I’m not going to Silverstone to re-invent the wheel.

“I’ll just aim to work hard and ride strong all weekend and hopefully get a couple of decent finishes in the races.”

Spaniard Xaus sustained leg and back injuries in a first lap crash in race one at Brno in the Czech Republic just over two weeks ago. Although initial scans did not reveal any major injury, continual pain in his back prompted Xaus to seek further medical advice last week, which revealed a fracture to vertebra L3.

He expects to be fit for round 10 of the series at Nurburgring in Germany in early September.

Muggeridge won the World Supersport championship in 2004 with the Castrol-supported Ten Kate Honda team and he contested the World Superbike championship with the squad in 2005 and 2006.

More recently, the 36-year-old from Tweeds Head on Australia’s Gold Coast has been racing a Honda CBR1000RR in the IDM German Superbike championship. He is currently lying second in the series in which he became champion on his debut last season.