An undisclosed wrist injury sustained at the penultimate round of Penrite ProMX has ruled Nathan Crawford out of his planned MXGP of China wildcard, as well as the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) with Team New Zealand after undergoing surgery this week.

Crawford, 27, will instead focus on his recovery in a bid to be 100 percent fit for the Fox Australian Supercross Championship (AUSX) when it opens with the Redcliffe double-header in mid-October.

A crash at MX Farm in moto two almost ended the Queenslander’s outdoor season altogether, but he managed to remount and finish the moto, before opting to race-on at Queensland Moto Park’s final round last Sunday. A remarkable 5-11 scorecard for eighth overall was enough to hold onto P3 in the standings by four points.

Speculation post-race in Gympie and again at QMP suggested that his wrist was momentarily dislocated, however, both Crawford and the team have stopped short of confirming the actual extent of his injury.

“I knew something was wrong as soon as I got up, something felt off in my hand, and it turned out that my wrist was injured,” Crawford explained. “We were at the pointy-end of the championship, so the focus was just getting that race finished, which we did, so that was good.

“I got back from the race and got in to see Dr Steve Andrews on the Monday. Fortunately, between Steve and Racesafe, we were able to come up with a management plan to get me through QMP, and the whole crew executed that perfectly.

“We got through and managed to secure P3 in the championship, so thank you to everyone for making it happen for me. I’ve been in for surgery and everything went well, now the focus shifts to making sure we’re ready for the first round of Australian Supercross.”

During the ProMX season in 2024, Crawford won two motos and claimed three overall podiums – at Horsham, Maitland and Toowoomba – upon return to the premier class this year. It’s unclear who will fill his vacated position in the New Zealand team at Matterley Basin’s MXoN.