Johnston ruled out of NW200 but will work for BBC

Lee Johnston has won NW 200 races in the Superstock, Supersport and Supertwins classes

Lee Johnston has been ruled out of this year's North West 200 international road races.

The 35-year-old will miss the event after failing to recover sufficiently from a broken leg sustained in testing at Cartagena in Spain in February.

The Fermanagh native fractured his right tibia and fibula in the accident.

Johnston had been planning a comeback after suffering life threatening injuries in a crash during practice at last year's North West.

He will instead be part of the BBC Sport NI team at the Triangle circuit, providing expert analysis on the week's events on BBCiPlayer, the BBC Sport website and BBC Sounds.

You can read his thoughts on the prospects for this year's race on the BBC Sport NI website on Tuesday morning.

The Ashcourt Racing rider has previously won five North West 200 races and secured his maiden Isle of Man TT success in the Supersport class in 2019.

Johnston crashed at the Church Corner section during practice for last year's North West, suffering extensive injuries.

He was airlifted to hospital and underwent a nine-hour operation following the incident.

"My leg is healing well but unfortunately the North West 200 has just come too early for me. I'm looking forward to working for the BBC though," said Johnston.