Reigning MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner will not take part in this weekend's Brno MotoGP round after being advised by doctors to fly home to Australia for surgery on his injured ankle.

The Australian will board a flight tonight and have to face the fact his chances of a third world title are rapidly slipping away. He is to give a press conference this afternoon from which we will bring you his thoughts.

He suffered a massive highside in the opening minutes of qualifying at Indianapolis which left him with several chipped bone fractures, a fracture on the talar dome below the tibia and fibula, contusions to the anterior tibia, posterior tibia and medial malleolus, and soft tissue swelling around the ankle. He has also injured his deltoid, anterior talofibial, calcaneal and fibular ligaments in addition to an ankle sprain.