Image: Supplied.

Clement Desalle has undergone minor surgery on his right knee to repair damage sustained at Valkenswaard’s third round of the 2019 MXGP World Championship in The Netherlands, where he landed on the podium.

The Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing rider is slated to return to riding in the coming weeks as the world championship experiences a month-long break, returning to action on 12 May at Mantova in Italy.

“I hit the ground pretty hard and immediately felt pain in my knee, so the second race was pretty tough but we got that first podium,” Desalle explained. “The examinations revealed that the meniscus was affected, and that some little pieces of bones were broken so we scheduled surgery for Monday after the race.

“This round was really difficult due to the pain and the crash in the second race – immediately after I retired I left with my father for Dr Claes’ clinic where I had surgery early last Monday. As soon as my knee had deflated after surgery I could start this week to work on a daily basis with my physiotherapist, mainly in the swimming pool at the moment but I have also started some bicycle exercises.

“We expect to do even more later this week, and for sure I’m pretty lucky that there is a break in the championship at the moment. The plan is to spend a few hours on the bike before Mantova, and so far everything has gone as we could expect.”

The Belgian contender sits sixth in the championship standings after lodging a DNF at Trentino’s fourth round earlier this month.