DOUBLE World Superbike champion James Toseland - who lives in Port Soderick - has injured his wrist in a testing crash.

It means he will be out of action for at least six weeks and he will definitely miss the next two rounds of the championship - including his 'home round' of Donington Park.

A specialist in Manchester operated on the 2004 and 2007 world champion's right wrist last night (Saturday).

The BMW Motorrad Italia rider was rushed into surgery after flying in to Manchester to have the damage assessed following a crash during an official team testing session at Aragon in Spain.

The 30-year-old Englishman has been extremely lucky - thanks to fast medical expertise from a friend - his website www.jamestoseland.com has reported.

Based on the results of an X-ray in Spain, showing a small fracture, he had been given the all-clear to ride at Donington Park, but the scan had failed to pick up on the main problem.

James said: "My main priority was being fit enough to race at Donington.

"So I was really pleased when I was told in Spain that I would be ok. But when I got back to the hotel, the pain in my right wrist was unbelievable and, considering that I had a race coming up in a week’s time, I sent the scan on to a specialist I know in Manchester.

"From looking at the scan, he thought I'd be alright, but as he's a friend, he left a wedding anniversary party to come and check the wrist properly.

"They took a new X-ray from a different position in Manchester and found that I had badly displaced bones in my wrist.

"At that point, things were getting critical as there was no blood flow in the wrist, meaning that the bone could die if I wasn't operated on immediately.

"I had expected him to confirm that everything was alright and give me the all-clear, so it came as a bit of a shock, to be honest.

"I guess I've been lucky, but it's a massive disappointment from a racing point of view. I'm so sorry to everybody who has continued to support me."