Leon Haslam eyes Donington Park return after broken leg

World Superbike rider Leon Haslam has targeted a comeback on his home circuit at Donington Park next month despite breaking his left leg on Friday.

Haslam was injured during qualifying for the third round of the championship at the Assen track in the Netherlands.

The 29-year-old Honda rider had a steel pin inserted into the broken bone during surgery on Sunday.

"I feel a lot better. The last few days have been hard work. But so far so good and I am back on the mend," he said.

The Derbyshire rider will miss the fifth round of the series at Monza, Italy, on 12 May, but he hopes to be able to race at Donington two weeks later.

"For the next few days I will be in hospital monitoring the swelling and trying to get me mobile," he said.

"My aim is to be back for my home round at Donington, which is less than four weeks.

"It's a tall order, but we have some good guys on the case, so there will be a lot of physio and treatments to try to get me back on the bike.

"It's really important. I would love to be back for Donington, not only for the team and the effort they put in, but also the fans - it's quite an important race for me."

Haslam, who is being treated at the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, described the crash as "a bit of a freak accident", caused by his leather getting caught on the foot peg of his machine.

He added: "It dragged my left leg into the bike and broke it as it hit the gravel.

"It was one of those things; it should have been an easy walk-away crash, but it ended up being a bit of a disaster.

"I broke several bones. I am happy that it's all fixed and in line and we can look forward."

In February last year, Haslam, from Smalley, raced in a World Superbike race in Australia just three days after fracturing his right leg and breaking bones in both feet.