Image: Octopi Media.

A heavy crash during the second 250MX qualifying session at Southwick left Nick Romano sidelined, with the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider later revealing that he sustained multiple back injuries in the incident.

The 21-year-old suffered a high-speed fall when the rear of his KX250 stepped out on the face of the finish-line jump, sending him to the ground on landing.

Romano – who is a fill-in rider at the Mitch Payton-led team – was ruled out of the day’s racing, with further medical scans confirming a compression fracture of the T6 vertebra and an acute fracture of the T5 vertebra.

“After eight hours at this shitty hospital, I’m set free,” said Romano. “As you guys all saw, I had a gnarly crash – [the] rear stepped out off the face, and I was just a passenger at that point.

“I can’t pinpoint what caused the rear to step out, but my gut feeling is it was probably the paddle [tire]. Kind of a dog to get up and ride my bike back to the pits, now knowing I have a compression fracture to my T6 and acute fracture to my T5 in my back.

“No surgery is required, which is great news, and I’m going to do some therapy to get this all settled, and I’ll be back as soon as possible – I can assure you guys that. Pissed off and even more hungry for success. No clue how long this injury takes, but just a little break to reset and keep going.”

The injury marks a significant setback in his 250MX campaign. Romano currently sits ninth in the championship, highlighted by a season-best third-place finish at Thunder Valley, with no timetable provided for his return to competition at this stage.