Image: MXN.

Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Wade Kirkland will not line up this weekend at Appin’s second round of the 2017 Motul MX Nationals series after aggravating an existing ankle injury at Wonthaggi’s season-opener.

Increasing the severity of his right ankle injury in the opening moto at Wonthaggi, the MX2 rookie was forced to miss the second moto on the day and since then has dealt with added health issues as he continues to recover.

“Before Wonthaggi I tweaked my ankle in a rut at a local Tasmanian race, so I had a couple of weeks off the bike leading up to the round,” Kirkland told MotoOnline.com.au. “I tried to race, but I re-tweaked it and did a little bit of ligament damage to my right ankle. So I had to sit out again and when I got home I picked up a flu and I don’t know what it is, but it’s gone into my bones and stuff, but it seems to be all good now.”

The 17-year-old expects to return for round three of the series in Conondale on 7 May with roughly one-week of time back on his factory-backed KTM 250 SX-F.

“I’m feeling pretty good now, so for the third round I should be back on the bike a week before then and I’ll get some training done – I need a bit of bike time otherwise it just doesn’t feel right,” he explained. “It’s a bit of a bummer, you go out there as a rookie and try to do well, but it doesn’t always go as planned; there’s always next year.”

Kirkland currently sits 29th overall in the MX2 championship standings with nine rounds of racing action remaining on the 2017 Motul MX Nationals calendar.