Kawasaki’s John Hopkins has returned home after undergoing successful surgery to remove the metal plates from his left ankle and foot, and another plate from his left hand, which leaves the rider free of hardware for the first time in three years.

Surgeons, led by the world renowned Doctor Arthur Ting, also performed keyhole surgery to clean up scar tissue and cartilage damage in Hopkins’ left knee, which he injured in the same Assen crash.

"It’s unbelievable; it’s great to be hardware free again after all this time. I have had several injuries in the past and have had to go through a few surgical ordeals since I was 13-years-of-age, but you never really get used to it," said Hopkins.

"Now all the metal is out of my body I’m looking forward to some rest and recuperation, and spending time with my wife Ashleigh and our two families during the Christmas holiday period. Doctor Ting reckons it will be four weeks before I can start training properly again, but that should give me time to be fighting fit, ready for the start of pre-season testing at the end of January."