Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) contender Josh Waters has revealed that he underwent wrist surgery following that qualifying crash which ruled him out of the 2023 Suzuka 8 Hours.

Waters – a McMartin Racing Ducati regular in ABSK – was part of S-Pulse Dream Racing’s line-up for the coveted event in Japan this year, and was showing genuine podium race pace with the team before being taken out heavily in qualifying.

“Unfortunately I was a bit more banged up than I first thought,” Waters said to CycleOnline. “I was able to get in straight away, and be operated on. I flew back on the Sunday night and yeah it’s just been recovering now. I’m out of the braces and everything like that, I can start to train properly.

“I dislocated both my shoulder and my wrist, I unfortunately fractured both of them. The fracture in my shoulder was… I crashed training on my DR-Z the Wednesday before Morgan Park, and I thought I had just sprained it or done something. It hurt like all buggery, I had Mark from Racesafe tape it up, which he did an amazing job, but when I went back to the hospital they said you’ve just refractured an existing injury. So I raced Morgan Park with a fractured shoulder, or humerus, which I didn’t know.

“So then I got back, the wrist had to be operated on when I landed back. They did an amazing job and it has just been letting it heal so far.

Waters flew back the Sunday evening of the Suzuka 8 Hour race, on 6 August, and underwent surgery soon after on his right wrist with renowned specialist Dr Steve Andrews in Brisbane. He expects to be back on the bike shortly at a track day, and fortunately, the extended break in the ASBK Championship will limit the impact of the injuries on his title challenge.

“Straight after our fifth round of our [ASBK] championship, you go into a huge break,” Waters added. “To be taken out in qualifying at Suzuka was bad, but then I was very fortunate that there was a huge break, and I’ll be fit enough when we get back testing for round six I’ll be good enough to ride again.”

Winner of rounds one and two of the 2023 ASBK season, Waters is currently second in the championship standings and 14 points behind Penrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss ahead of round six at Phillip Island, between 27-29 October.