Chaz Davies has opened up over his nasty crash at Misano which left him with a broken bone in his lower back.
The Knighton-born flier admitted he was lucky to escape more serious injury after being run-over by World Superbikes rival Jonathan Rea.
Davies crashed while leading just a few corners from the finish of Saturday’s race with Rea unable to avoid hitting him as he lay on the ground.
The Aruba.it Ducati rider said on his Instagram page: “Without a doubt one of the most innocent of crashes yet gnarly outcomes I’ve ever been involved in.
“I certainly felt the 235kg of bike + rider launch off my back and feel extremely lucky to be heading home 48hrs later without more serious injuries.
“Adrenalin and heart tells you to get back on the bike but after a few steps and a go at picking it up I realised that I couldn’t breathe, I was seeing stars and my torso felt like it had been steamrollered.
“Jonathan Rea couldn’t have done anything different, apart from perhaps rolling off a tad and giving me a second or 2 lead . Seriously though, thanks to JR for looking out for me.
“My relatively OK condition is a testament to wearing the best equipment and I owe everything to Alpinestars and Nolan for keeping me in one piece. Shout out to the circuit medical staff, Rimini hospital and Dr.Catani for getting me up and together.
“Thanks to my partner in crime @hatshughes (she’s in for a fun week of waiting on me) and my Aruba.it Racing team and Ducati Motor family for going out of their way to make sure I have what I need to start the healing process right away.
“Thanks to all the well-wishers at the circuit and everyone that has sent healing vibes through the social media channels.”
Davies spent Saturday night in hospital where it was revealed he had fractured the L3 vertebrae as well as injuries to his left thumb.
But he was back at the track on Sunday seeing team-mate Marco Melandri – who had also crashed on the last lap on Saturday when lying third – triumph.
The 30-year-old has targeted a return at the next round at Laguna Seca in California on July 7.
He added: “The goal is be back at Laguna Seca.”