Austin Forkner Gives an Update

Prayers for the dude. He deserves a break.

This dude needs all the positivity he can get right now.

Just get back in the saddle. 

Yes, it’s gotta be rough. But, he’s done it before. 

fan or not your heart has to go out to him

I was really hoping he could finally stay healthy. Sucks for him.

You can hear the hurt in his voice. I'm bummed for him

Man, that was tough to watch.  I feel so bad for the guy.  I hope he heals up well and moves forward in a way that’s best for him.

I’m not seeing any update on mobile. Just OP’s text. What’s the update?

Feel very badly for him, all the best for a quick recovery 

Tough sport. 

Hoping recovery is smooth.

Basically totally destroyed knee, ACL, the works. Broken bone in hand also 

Yeah I agree I'm not really a fan of Austin's over the past few years but it's hard not to feel for the guy and watching that video was heartbreaking. Respect to him for the post, it must've been difficult. I hope he doesn't lose the fire in his belly and we see him back winning races soon

Hard to watch. Never been in exactly the same situation but certainly a similar one regarding outlook, disgust.

All I can say is the only way these things defeat you is if you let them. Even if he never races again, how he fights back, the lessons learned from it, and where he goes from here is what ultimately matters most. I guess the most important thing is not to isolate, which he alluded to. That always makes things worse, speaking from personal experience and having watched many go through similar things. 
 

If he can hold his head up high, roll with the punches, and use what would otherwise be a crushing blow as a moment of growth, he can move forward with pride. 

If its ACL is that 6 months recovery or 12?

Damn that's gotta wreck havoc on the mental game to do all that work and go down like that. Knees suck but at least it wasn't worse.

Minimum is 6. The longer you wait and the more rehab you do, the better. He's got a lot of other damage too.

Usually 6 unless you over push it and that can cause more issues.  He is basically out until SX next year or mid outdoors if he fixes it right.  

Props to him for having the courage to put that out there in video form.  So sad and hard to watch.  

I'm so gutted for Forkner. I hope he heals up quickly and can stay positive.

You will not see him until A1 next year. Tough break for the young man and hopefully he will be back stronger next year. 

Dang. Thanks for the reply. 

6 months I blew mine out rigging a mud rig down in Newark nj. Then drove a non drive by wire Mack trk to a island off sc. then worked 4 weeks 7 days a week on the strongest horizontal drill rig in the world. It hurt like hell. Had it reconstructed went back to work in 4 months. Then blew everything out in my shoulder, game keepers thumb and broke 4 vertebrae. My contract for 6 months 450k take home was terminated for a European co. Injuries can mess your life up. Damon huffman raced after 3 months acl reconstructed knee. At 3-4 months the graph is solid. A packers surgeon did mine . A Grest surgeon cuts the time down. He should be 100 % by may.

That’s the type of knee injury that is really hard to come back from.  

That was tough to watch, BUT he still does have time on his side.  Fucking brutal, my heart goes out to the dude.  I was really hoping he would have a full season and put his mishaps aside and crack on with exploiting his full potential.  Hope he can re-group emotionally and mentally to give it another go. Wish him the best in his recovery.  Austin is talented no doubt.

Great another self fellating profeshenal story. Your crazy if you believe that. He did more then just ACL. Surgeries have gotten a lot better but you won’t see him back on a bike for quite some time. 

Different group of posters in this thread. That vid showed a ton of humility. Good luck to him . I wish him well.

Going back at 6 months is a gamble. Anything prior to that is straight up foolish. He's got more damage than just the ACL to deal with as well (tibial plateau, medial AND lateral meniscus, PCL, MCL).

He won't be back by May... or June... or July...

My personal view is it should be A1 2024 and just use this year to get back stronger than ever. If he's super motivated to come back though, maybe some fall races? No point in dipping in half way through nationals.

Keep your head up Austin. 

Man I was really disappointed to see his crash at the start, but when they show the replay and I see a green bike flipping down the start straight I say to myself Forkner. The kid is crazy talented but P1 in qualifying is not the same as consistent through 8 rounds. He lacks patience, the ability to take each race as it comes. He could easily make his way through slower traffic but he pushes where he should be patient and learn the other riders. This is what separates fast riders from champions.

Wow. I’m admittedly not a fan of his, but felt bad for him watching that video. You can see the frustration. That’s asking a lot for a 24 yr old to keep fighting through this year after year. He’s talented for sure.