Reigning Bennetts British Superbike king Tarran Mackenzie has been ruled out of this weekend's season opener after undergoing surgery.

Mackenzie fractured his left ankle in a testing crash and the offending limb was plated yesterday but it means he cannot ride at Silverstone. He will also miss his scheduled WorldSBK wildcard at Assen.

 "I'm obviously disappointed to be missing the opening round this weekend, especially after feeling so good on the bike at Snetterton, but it is what it is," said the McAMS Yamaha rider.

"The operation on my ankle went well and I'm now focusing on my recovery, working with my physio and aiming to be back as soon as we can to get our season on track. I'd like to wish the whole team the best of luck this weekend as the season gets started."