Toseland back to fitness for Portimao

James Toseland believes he will be fit enough to race at Portimao this weekend without the need for pain killing injections after breaking a bone in his hand at Phillip Island.

After returning to the UK Toseland discovered that the injury was more serious than originally diagnosed and the double WSB champion has spent hours each day in an oxygen chamber and undergoing extensive physiotherapy.

“I’m confident that we’ve had enough time now to be fit for the race. If the race had been last weekend it would have been difficult.

“When I got back from Australia I was still in a lot of pain, more than I should have been and that’s when I found out that the injury was a bit more serious.

“Since then I’ve been getting treatment everyday on the Isle of Man and people really have been bending over backwards to help me.

“I’ve had treatment from the top physio Isla Scott and David at the oxygen chamber opened it for me last weekend, even though he was supposed to be closed so that I could continue my treatment.”

Unlike his WSB rivals Toseland has never raced at the Portimao circuit. He has however tested there where he finished eighth first time out on the Yamaha R1 in October and sixth at the end of January.

After scoring a solitary tenth position and six points at Phillip Island, Toseland already sits 39 points behind series leader Leon Haslam making this weekends race crucial to his title aspirations.