A fractured shoulder-blade sustained in a dramatic start to moto one at Oss has returned promising initial scans post-race, according to injured Red Bull KTM racer Jeffrey Herlings.

Herlings received the scans following moto one at the MXGP of The Netherlands, which revealed the fracture to his left shoulder blade was minor.

However, the painful left shoulder injury still resulted in the Dutch rider being unable to complete the second moto after winning the first outing despite his injury.

The incident itself occurred in the early stages of the first moto when Herlings bobbled and Ivo Monticelli (Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing) landed on the KTM rider’s back. Remarkably, Herlings stayed upright and managed to claw his way into the lead and win the opening moto.

“What can I say about today?” Herlings exclaimed. “I had high hopes and wanted 1-1. I had a great start in the first moto, but the start device did not disengage immediately up the hill and I did not jump as far as I usually do out of the waves.

“The rest is history. I had a lot of pain but thought I’d keep going to try and get fourth or fifth. I saw I was still able to catch the guys, so I started passing them even though I could barely hold on for the last three laps.

“I have a small crack in my shoulder blade and I still don’t know how bad it is… We had a scan and it doesn’t seem too bad. I don’t have any pain now, but racing a dirt bike is a different story. We’ll have another check tomorrow.”

Herlings now faces a short turnaround to be ready for the MXGP of the Czech Republic at Loket this weekend on 25 July. He’s currently second in the championship, 23 points down on Team Honda HRC rider Tim Gajser.