Scottish hero Stuart Easton has been forced to miss his home round of the British Superbike Championship at Knockhill this weekend.

The Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki man will not compete this weekend after developing an infection around his dynamic hip fixator that remained following his North West 200 crash last year. Easton will now require an operation on Wednesday to have the metalwork removed which rules him out of his home race.

“It is so disappointing for me to miss Knockhill as your home round is always a big one. I have been through a long road of recovery over the past year and have had what I believe to be an amazing comeback with top fives and a podium from the opening rounds. It took a lot of hard work and now to need another operation to have the metalwork in my hip taken out has come at a bad time but it has to be done," said the Hawick man.

"It is a race against time to be fit for the next round but this time the recovery won’t be anywhere as hard as last time. It is a shame as we are in a strong position in the championship but it is just another hurdle for me and I will be back as soon as possible with the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki team.”