Reigning Bennetts British Superbike Champion Shane Byrne has taken his first steps back to competition after having the halo that was holding his head in a fixed position removed today.
The Be Wiser Ducati man went for a CT scan on his head and neck, and doctors found that bone growth had begun on his broken vertebrae so swapped the halo for a neck brace.
"Far from the end of the road, it's the start of the next episode, the neck is literally just starting to show some signs of bone growth, I'm going to be in this brace now until the end of August," Byrne wrote on Instagram.
"Then back for another scan, then hopefully start physio to try to get some movement. I'll have another CT scan at six months to see if there's any more progress bone growth wise then in nine months I should hopefully be able to have all the metalwork removed from my spine. Long road ahead but a nice step made today, I can't even begin to tell you how good the 20 odd minute shower I just had felt."