Keith Farmer could be set for another spell on the sidelines after he suffered a shoulder ligament injury at Donnington Park.

The Clogher rider was making his debut outing for new team Buildbase Suzuki after recovering from his double leg break in June 2019, but misfortune struck once again as he crashed in qualifying at the first round of the British Superbike Championship.

The accident came on Saturday, just as Keith’s weekend looked to be picking up after a slow start. Farmer had struggled with the set up of the bike in the early free practice rounds but had started to climb the leaderboard in qualifying before his off.

“It’s a real shame for Keith after coming back from injury and going well during testing,” team owner Stuart Hicken told bikesportnews.com the day after the event.

“He was getting quicker and quicker in qualifying but unfortunately went in to Redgate a bit too quick and used a bit too much front brake and down he went. It’s the ligament that holds the shoulder and collarbone together so Keith will be going for an operation either on Monday or Tuesday and we’ll know then how long he’ll be out for.

“Hopefully, it won’t be long but if it’s going to be for a few rounds we’ll look at getting someone else out on the bike. We’ll just have to wait and see what the outcome is.”

The unexpected delay to the season had given Keith extra time to get himself ready for his return to the Superbike, but he admitted after the opening day of practice that he was still readjusting to the demanding Superbike.

“To be honest a lot of the time has been spent building my confidence again after last year and after my injury,” he acknowledged.

“I’d done a lot of riding on the Superstock bike but the Donnington test was a real step again, back into it properly. We made some changes as we went and found something in the last session which really helped my confidence – knowing I could ride, knowing I could give feedback and work with the team, because it’s a new bike to me. I’m new to the team, so it was a learning day. The area we need to work on for me is rear grip. I don’t mind the thing sliding on the way into corners but I’m quite aggressive with the throttle from the apex and on the corner exit, so I need to know and feel that I have a good connection from the rear tyre to the ground.”

Nineteenth in the first free practice session was followed by 20th in the second session, but the team made a breakthrough in the set-up ahead of qualifying, and Keith had moved up to 13th before his accident. The team can take confidence from his teammate’s performances however, with Kyle Ryde leading the first race before his retirement. The bike pace was confirmed by his fourth and eighth placed finishes in the subsequent races, so Keith can undertake his recuperation knowing that when he gets back into action, he will have a bike that is capable of running near the front of the pack.

The next round of the series is at Snetterton on August 21 and Farmer is a major doubt for that round, but with the series running until mid-October he will be hoping that he can get back in action before the end of the campaign.