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Austin Forkner fitted with a cast on broken hand, likely to miss multiple SMX rounds

Austin Forkner has been fitted with a cast for a broken hand suffered in a Press Day crash during Round 4 of the SuperMotocross World Championship at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The cast will remain for at least two weeks, which will most likely keep him from competing at either Glendale, Arizona, or Seattle, Washington.

“After his fall during Press Day, the Missouri native sustained a fracture to his left hand and will be placed in a cast for the next two weeks,” the team announced on social media. “The injury will be assessed on a week-by-week basis moving forward. Heal up fast, Austin!”

With Jordon Smith scheduled to return in Round 6 in Arlington, Texas, and the 250 East division debuting that week, this could mark the end of Forkner’s 450 experiment. Forkner was originally announced as a 250 East Supercross contender, but was later tagged as a fill-in rider for Smith.

Open questions remain, however.

In a pre-race scrum with team managers before Anaheim 2, Steve Westfall said, “No, we haven’t decided what we’re going to do, so that’s still up in the air,” in response to a question about whether Forkner would remain on the big bike once Smith returned.

Smith’s fate is also uncertain.

“Currently, Jordan is riding,” Westfall added. “He’s riding outdoors. Tentative plan, earliest, would be Arlington ... but still just want to make sure that that shoulder’s 100% before he starts going and gets back into racing.”

In two starts on the 450, Forkner finished 15th in the season opener and was 17th in Anaheim 2. He missed San Diego after crashing in qualification.