The Year of Injuries: A Recap of Supercross 2023

2023 was hands down one of the worst years in the injury department. Some riders were out before their season even started, while others only got one race under their belt. To hear that Eli Tomac was one of these riders was gutting. In this article, we will go over each and every rider that was sidelined for the 2023 season.

Austin Forkner

Forkner's season was over before it really started. Seconds after the gate dropped, Forkner was involved in an accident at the start of the race. He collided with two other riders as the line narrowed to take the first turn. Forkner was thrown from his bike and landed hard, suffering injuries to his right knee, including a complete ACL tear, a lateral meniscus tear, and a fracture to the top of his tibia and fibula, among other knee-related injuries. 

 

Jo Shimoda

Jo Shimoda's 2023 season got off to a rocky start when he suffered a shoulder injury during preparation for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Eastern Regional Championship. The crash caused a broken collarbone, which kept him sidelined for the opening rounds of the 250SX Eastern Regional Championship. After taking the necessary time to recover, Shimoda rejoined the series in Atlanta for round 13 and worked to regain his momentum. Despite the setback at the beginning of the season, he remained determined to compete for wins and finished the year strong.

 

Malcolm Stewart

Another rider whose season was cut short before it even began was Malcolm Stewart. He lined up for A1, but a practice crash during the week leading up to A2 resulted in a knee injury that required surgery, leaving him sidelined for the rest of the season. Stewart had a strong finish the previous year, finishing third in the 450SX standings.

Despite his short-lived season, Stewart showed a lot of speed at both rounds. He led main event laps at the opener and qualified fastest, and he also pulled out a last-lap heat race win at the San Diego Supercross.

 

Jalek Swoll

Jalek Swoll was another 250 East Coast rider who was out for the season. He suffered a spiral fracture in his upper arm during a practice crash and did not return for the Supercross season. He and his team felt it was best for him to focus on healing up and preparing for the 2023 Motocross season.

 

Nick Romano

Nick Romano was set to debut in the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, but he couldn't participate in the season opener in Anahiem due to an undisclosed injury. He later revealed on Instagram that he had suffered a knee injury during training and would be out for the whole season. Romano's shoulder separation injury in January kept him out of the Houston race. Unfortunately, he sustained another injury a few weeks later, which would require surgery. Romano became the fourth 250SX East Region rider out due to injury. He was expected to make an impact as a rookie this year.

 

Marvin Musquin

Marvin Musquin from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing missed several races due to a wrist injury sustained during a practice crash. Musquin started 2023 strongly at Anaheim 1 by qualifying in the third position before finishing 12th in the Main Event. Unfortunately, he was injured while training before San Diego's second round, putting him out for the remainder of the season.

 

Phil Nicoletti

Phil Nicoletti went down in the whoops during practice in Oakland and dislocated his wrist. He spent most of the day in the hospital in Oakland getting his wrist into traction, with both bone and ligament damage. Phil underwent surgery the following Thursday near his home in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

Adam Cianciarulo

Adam Cianciarulo sustained a wrist injury during the press day ride in Arlington. He returned for round 7 in Indianapolis and ended up getting on the podium for the first time in two years in Denver after being plagued with injuries the previous two seasons. The 2023 season was the longest season Adam has completed in recent years.

 

Christian Craig

Christian Craig had been consistent in his first full 450 season, but a crash early in the day in the whoops section during the Glendale Supercross free practice set him back. He later revealed he sustained a dislocated hip and a dislocated elbow. Surgery put him out for the remainder of the season.

 

Nate Thrasher

After his crash in Atlanta, Nate Thrasher of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing focused on returning to 100% for the 2024 season and sat out of the remaining rounds of the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross. Thrasher had cracked his collarbone and dislocated his hip during a crash in the 250SX East Main Event at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Tennessee rider underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair his hip injury and decided to focus on preparing for the 2024 title fight.

 

Cooper Webb

After a very strong season and being in the points battle all the way up to the end, Cooper Webb was forced to sit out of the last two rounds due to an injury sustained in Nashville. The 2023 season marked a spectacular return for Webb, as he had grabbed nine podium finishes over the course of 14 rounds.

 

Jason Anderson

Jason Anderson was another rider who sustained an injury in Nashville. In an Instagram post, Jason said he crashed in practice and, since he didn’t think his injury was all that bad, he ended up racing the entire day. Do you want to know what the injury was? A broken neck! How wild is that?

 

Justin Barcia

Justin Barcia had a crash in Nashville which resulted in a broken collarbone. He had gone over the bars on the Dragon's Back jump which led into the whoop section, and it was immediately evident that he was hurt. Justin and the team waited until Thursday morning after the race to release an update. Justin explained that he had broken his collarbone, shoulder, and two ribs in the crash.

 

Eli Tomac

This was a difficult moment for everyone. Eli Tomac had been on track to achieve another top result at the penultimate round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross in Denver, Colorado. Unfortunately, the reigning 450SX champion and points leader was forced to withdraw from the main event due to an injury, thus ending his title hopes. On lap 3, shortly after coming around the corner, Eli Tomac ruptured his Achilles. Despite this unfortunate news, Eli remained in good spirits and did not indicate whether this was the end or if he would make a comeback. Many fans believe he will retire, but one thing we know is that you can never count Eli out. We will learn about his next moves when he decides to share them with us.