Webber "back for start of season"

Eurosport - Mon, 24 Nov 15:38:00 2008

Surgery to pin the broken right leg of Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber has been a success, his spokesman said on Sunday.

Red Bull driver Webber, 32, was riding a mountain bike when he collided with a four-wheel drive while competing in his own multi-sport charity event in Tasmania on Saturday.

Geoff Donohue, spokesman for the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge, said Hobart Private Hospital doctors had inserted rods to mend the breaks in his lower right tibia and fibula.

It was not known at this stage when Webber would be able to leave hospital, he added.

"He's feeling sharp and spritely, all things considered," Donohue said.

Police said no charges would be filed over the accident.

Donohue said Webber was expected to fully recover in time for the start of the Formula One season in Melbourne on March 29 but he is likely to miss the start of the testing in Europe.

"He may miss some early testing in the car - it's a setback but it's a minor setback," Donohue said.