Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing's Ford Dale will skip the remainder of 2012 with an ACL injury. Image: Grant Reynolds/FiftySix Clix.

Carlton Dry Honda’s Ford Dale will miss the remaining rounds of the Terex Australian Supercross Championship, scheduled to undergo a knee reconstruction in the coming weeks.

Dale, fresh home from winning the final round of the Japanese nationals last weekend, underwent examinations this week, revealing a tear in his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

“I’m gutted,” he told the Sunshine Coast Daily. “It sucks because I’ve felt really good on the bike this year. It had been going great. I’ve got a lot of swelling at the moment but as soon as I get rid of that, then I’ll get the knee reconstruction as soon as I can.

“It’s not good to get an injury but it’s better to have it now than at the start of next year because I should have time to recover and prepare for the next Australian Motocross Championship, which starts in March.

“A full recon is about six months, but I’m trying to get an artificial ligament put in, so that would be a lot less time. It would only be about three to four months.”

Dale also suffered a serious knee injury in 2011, forcing him out for much that that season before bouncing back in 2012 with victory in the MX2 class of the Monster Energy MX Nationals.

For the full story on Dale’s injury and anticipated recovery time, click here to visit the Sunshine Coast Daily website.