Serco Yamaha MX2 contender Jackson Richardson has confirmed he’ll miss the remaining rounds of the 2017 Motul MX Nationals as he recovers from a shoulder injury sustained at Shepparton’s seventh round.

The Queenslander was vying for a podium position in race two when a costly mistake resulted in him being assisted off the circuit via the Racesafe medical crew, ultimately damaging his championship hopes.

After undergoing further scans, Richardson revealed he suffered a third-degree separation of his acromioclavicular (AC) joint in his shoulder, which will see him sidelined for several weeks in order to adequately return to full health.

“I had scans and found out that I have a third-degree separation in my AC joint,” Richardson explained to MotoOnline.com.au. “So right now my plan is that I’m going to be out for the rest of the outdoor season at this point and I’ll just get ready for supercross.

“I was expecting it to be a lot worse, I thought I was definitely going to have to get surgery, but I saw a specialist and he said it’s damaged a bit, but it’s not at a point where it needs to be operated on straightaway – he said I could leave it and let it heal in a few weeks.”

The number 11 is hopeful to be ready to defend his SX2 title in the Australian Supercross Championship, which is scheduled to commence at Jimboomba in Queensland, on 23 September.

“Right now, I’m just going to take a few weeks off, let it heal properly and hopefully come back to be ready for supercross,” he continued. “I’ve had a pretty ordinary season outdoors, so right now I want to get back to full health and try to defend the [supercross] championship.”

Richardson is fifth in the championship standings as the MX Nationals series heads to Port Macquarie this weekend for the eighth stop on the calendar. It’s unclear if Serco Yamaha will source a replacement for the final three rounds.