Triple champion Stuart Easton will be a notable absentee at the 45th running of the Macau motorcycle GP next month, and nobody is more disappointed that the Scot.
Easton, one of the brightest young talents to emerge on the scene, was creating a dynasty for himself after winning his third straight Macau title last year.
But the 28-year-old from Hawick has been forced onto the sidelines and faces a long road to recovery after suffering horrific injuries in a crash in May while practising for the North West 200 in Northern Ireland.
Easton took a heavy spill, shattering his pelvis and femurs, breaking bones in his hands and dislocating his hip. His injuries were thought not to be too serious as first, but further tests revealed that he had broken both femurs and shattered his pelvis in five places. He also broke his coccyx, ruptured his bowel and fractured some fingers.
The prognosis, although not life-threatening, was not encouraging. Doctors expect him to be out of action for at least another six months. But there's good news - he will be able to race again.
'For sure my crash and injuries are the worst of my life but I'm more focused on my comeback than anything else. I feel lucky to be able to race again so I won't dwell on it,' said Easton.
Fortunately, Easton is on the mend and feels so much better than he did five months when it seemed his whole world had collapsed around him. The Scot is confident he will return to the Guia circuit and take back his rightful place as Macau's most dominant rider in recent years.