Mladin suffered the injury while riding his motocross bike as part of his training program. His left ankle slipped under the bike and twisted, fracturing the Fibular, just above the ankle.

The Yoshimura Suzuki star was having a last minute ride before packing up and heading to the airport where he was to fly out to America for a three-day test at Road Atlanta.

"I can't believe it," Mladin said. "I thought I'd just go out and do a few minutes riding before heading to the airport, and then this happens. It's never the right time for something for this to happen, but with about four weeks before the next round of the AMA Championship, it will give me plenty of time to recover."

"Initially I felt that I had just twisted and I was packing to head to the airport, but after a while I realised it was worse than that so I had it X-Rayed and the break showed up clearly. I've got an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon today and I hope to have it pinned as soon as possible."

As with any break, it is expected to take six weeks to heal, but if he can have the break pinned he is hopeful of a much quicker return to the track.

"With four weeks to the next round, I can't see any problem with not being fit enough for it. I've rescheduled my flights to head out in two weeks time and then have a test on the bike before the Sears Point round."