BSB news - Shakey Byrne out for season but reveals he wants to return to racing

The 42-year-old is still recovering from his broken neck and back, which he picked up in a Snetterton crash last May but wants to makes sure his rehab is complete before attempting to get back on a bike.

“The problem is that the injuries are compression injuries, it’s not a case of being a straight-forward snap or break," he told MCN. "It doesn’t take a genius to work out that when you’ve got loads of bits of bone floating about where your spinal cord leaves your brain and goes to your back, overdoing anything can obviously cause problems.

“In November, the doctor told me the neck was stable enough to start to live a bit more of a normal life. I could turn my head and even start doing a bit of exercise. However, that to me is ‘right, let’s go and get back on it,’ so after a few, steady cycle rides I started to push myself a bit harder and you find yourself in a situation where you can’t do it. That’s not to sound soft, and I’m not complaining, I just can’t do it at the moment and that’s really hard to take.

“It’s not like any injury I’ve had before. We’re talking about a broken neck and spinal cord injuries, so what the surgeon says carries a bit of weight. If it was a broken wrist or something like that I’d be telling you I’d be back in a few weeks, but you can’t muck about with this kind of injury.”

Yet, despite the shocking nature of his injuries, Byrne, who has upcoming hospital appointments to check on his progress, insisted he wants to give riding another go.

"It might be that I jump on a bike and realise that, like trying to ride a bicycle right now, I just can’t physically do it, I might get back on and realise straightaway that I simply don’t enjoy it anymore but equally, I might jump back on and realise what I’ve been missing for the last nine months.

"I have to find out which one it is, all I’ve ever wanted to be is what I was: a bike racer!"