Image: Octopi Media.

Eli Tomac will miss the Monster Energy Supercross finale this weekend in Salt Lake City and the start of AMA Pro Motocross beginning in two weeks after it was announced that he suffered a Bennett fracture and torn ligaments in his thumb following a crash at the Denver Supercross. The damage to his thumb will require surgery with an estimated timeline of six to eight weeks for his return.

“This is not the news I wanted to break to everyone, but at the Denver Supercross in free practice I crashed on my thumb, and it’s resulted in a Bennett fracture and some torn ligaments that will require surgery to stabilize my thumb,” said Tomac. “This is a tough one to swallow, knowing that I’m going to miss the opening rounds of motocross, but I’m optimistic I will be able to race the later portion of the outdoor season and the SMX rounds. I want to thank all my fans and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing for being so supportive through the Supercross season. We will be back stronger in the later half of this season.”

Tomac had just announced prior to the Denver Supercross that he would be racing a full campaign of AMA Pro Motocross in 2024, something that had been tentative as Tomac was again contemplating retirement. The plan appears to be for Tomac to get back to full strength and return midway through the Pro Motocross championship to prepare for the SuperMotocross World Championship in September.

While currently tied for third in the Monster Energy Supercross Championship with Chase Sexton, Tomac will likely slip to fourth and maybe fifth as Jason Anderson sits 18 points behind him. It’s a tough blow to see Tomac sidelined again, but the silver lining is that this time it appears a comeback is imminent.