Image: Jeff Crow.

Raceline KTM Newcastle’s Brock McLeary has sustained a fractured T7 vertebrae following a crash at the Lake Macquarie East Coast MX series opening round.

McLeary, hailing from Newcastle, made his way to the Lake Macquarie event to begin his 2016 MX Nationals MX2 pre-season preparations before the unfortunate incident occurred chasing down multi-time MX1 champion Matt Moss.

“First race back for the 2016 season didnt go as planned, I took a hard fall behind Mossy in the first eliminator race,” McLeary told MotoOnline.com.au. “Initially I just thought I was badly winded but things didnt get any better throughout the day so we went & got checked.”

Doctors confirmed the 18-year-old had indeed fractured the T7 vertebrae putting his hopes of an MX2 debut at Horsham’s 3 April opening round of the MX Nationals at 100 percent health in doubt.

“Turns out I fractured the T7 vertebrae in my back and at this stage I’m looking at six to eight weeks off the bike,” he added. “I’m still waiting to see a specialist and hopefully I can learn more about my injury and how I can go about a faster recovery.”

Stay tuned for more on McLeary’s recovery and scheduled return date.