Image: Foremost Media.

MX1 rookie Bailey Malkiewicz has confirmed that he’ll miss at least the opening round of the 2023 Penrite ProMX Championship after failing to fully recover from foot and leg injuries sustained at Marvel Stadium last year.

Set for his 450 debut amidst a return to the WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha outfit, it’s not clear when Malkiewicz will now return to racing, stating that there’s no exact timeline for his recovery at this stage.

“I tried to get back to riding, but I’m just not fully recovered from my crash in Supercross,” Malkiewicz told MotoOnline. “I’m not really sure when I’ll be back time-wise, the injury is just a bit worse than we first thought and it’s taking a long time to heal – longer than we wanted, that’s for sure.”

Malkiewicz’s list of injuries included a broken talus in two places, a broken tibia and a fractured wrist in four spots, all sustained in the same crash at the opening round of the Australian Supercross Championship in Melbourne last year that left him sidelined for the remainder of the series.

With the opening round of the 2023 Penrite ProMX Championship set for 5 March at Wonthaggi, it has not been confirmed if the WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha team will call a fill-in rider in place of the injured Malkiewicz.