A torn ligament in Cooper Webb’s left thumb has been revealed as the cause of his late-season troubles, the two-time 450SX champion confirming the injury after riding to fifth in Denver.

Since tying with Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) in the point standings after Foxborough, Webb has been battling outside of podium places in recent weeks while managing a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL).

Webb’s most recent podium came at round 14 in Nashville with a P3 result, but fourth and fifth positions in Philadelphia and Denver have enabled Lawrence – winner of the past three main events – to stretch out a 20-point advantage with only a single round remaining next weekend in Salt Lake City.

“It’s not great,” Webb admitted on the broadcast. “I have a thumb injury, tore my UCL, so just trying to do what I can. Last week we tore it even worse, so just kind of doing my thing and it’s frustrating when you can’t perform. It’s a bummer, but it is what it is – we’re not going to sit on the couch and cry about it.

“It’s 17 rounds and you’ve gotta stay healthy, and I wasn’t able to do that. Jett’s riding great and this whole Star Racing Yamaha team is nothing but awesome. It’s a dagger, for sure, but I know for damn well that we’ll be back… I’ll try to keep my head up. It sucks, so we’ll just be there next weekend and we’ll see what happens.”

Since rejoining Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing for the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross season, Webb has picked up four main event victories – Anaheim 2, Arlington, Seattle and Foxborough. He’s also sealed at least the runner-up position in the championship.