Vermeulen in action at Phillip Island before crashing out of both races.

Australia’s Chris Vermeulen could sit out the second round of the Superbike World Championship following his high-speed crash at Phillip Island’s season opener last month, citing a knee injury as his main opposition heading into round two.

“I went to a knee specialist after my MRI scan results, which showed up about five tears of ligaments, cartilage, muscle - so there is quite a bit of damage done to my knee,” Vermeulen revealed in a video on his official website

“I also have some small abrasions on the outside of my knee, so the specialist said he couldn’t operate because of the risk of infection. So we have to wait for that to heal, then go and see him again.”

The second round of the series will be contested at Portimao in Portugal on 26-28 March, however the Queenslander remains cautious regarding whether or not he’ll be on hand for the factory Kawasaki team. He’ll meet with his specialist in the lead-up to the event.

“If that goes well and there isn’t too much movement in my knee from the torn ligaments, then he will leave it and, fingers crossed, I’ll be okay for Portimao. However, if the damage is still quite bad and not repairing well, he might want to go inside and fix it up,” he explained. “So we are still a bit doubtful for the next race. I am walking around slowly, starting to hobble almost, but the rest of my body feels fine.”

Stay tuned for updates in CV’s return to WSBK after a number of seasons in MotoGP.