Hopper will miss at least the next 2 races, Capirex is back again..

The American endured a horrific crash during qualifying for the Dutch TT that saw him flung from his bike at 140mph and slam feet-first into the tyre wall. He was immediately diagnosed with a broke a bone the bottom of his left tibia and an ankle bone, before further examinations on his return to the USA from Assen showed another tibia break just below the knee, along with cartilage damage that caused his knee to lock. He underwent surgery in Los Angeles on Monday to reset his ankle bones and repair the damaged meniscus, but will not be able to bear weight on his left leg for three weeks. Kawasaki estimate a full recovery will take six to eight weeks. He will definitely miss out on this weekend's race at the Sachsenring in Germany and Laguna Seca later this month. He could also be ruled out of the Czech GP in Brno on August 17.

Kawasaki Competition Manager Michael Bartholemy said: "I am sorry for John, as I know he was looking forward to racing in front of his home crowd at Laguna Seca, where he always enjoys a lot of support.

"But it's just not possible; he has had surgery to fix the injuries he sustained at Assen, and now he needs sufficient recovery time to ensure that he's fully fit before he makes his racing return.

"Obviously we are hoping that this return will come at the Czech Republic Grand Prix, but we will be monitoring John's recovery very closely and we have no intention of putting him back on the bike before he's ready.

"If this means he doesn't race at Brno, then that's how it will be, because we don't want to risk making things worse by allowing him to return before he is fully recovered."

No announcement has been made yet on Hopkins's replacement.

Suzuki's Loris Capirossi is ready to make a speedy return from injury at this weekend's German MotoGP at the Sachsenring in eastern Germany.

The Italian was unable to compete in the last round at Assen in the Netherlands after crashing in practice and sustaining a large puncture wound in his right forearm that required surgery.

Suzuki's medical team have worked hard to repair the damage and believe it is safe for Capirossi to ride the next race despite the injury not being 100 per cent healed.

The experienced rider had also been forced to withdraw from the earlier Britsh GP after suffering a broken right hand in action at Catalunya but Capirossi is keen to get back on track.

"I just can't wait to get back on my bike! My arm is still mending and it's quite painful, but it is strong enough to ride with," said Capriossi. "I have had lots of good advice about how the injury is repairing, and what I should consider about racing."

"I've missed three races and it is now important for me to get back on the bike again, not just for myself but for the whole team. I like Sachsenring and I had a good result there last year - now I need to get a good result for Suzuki to re-pay them for missing the last three races."