Wilson reveals recovery delay

Matthew Wilson has told Wrc.com that his recovery from the broken ankle he suffered while training for Rally Sweden back in February will take longer than he first hoped.

Wilson has been forced to miss the last two events in Sweden and Mexico and is in Portugal this week purely as an observer while he waits for his injuries to heal.

He fears his next appearance in the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia won’t be until the Acropolis Rally in Greece at the end of May.

“I’m well and truly on the mend but I’ve done a lot more damage than I originally thought,” said Wilson. “All the ligaments on the inside of my left ankle were ruptured when I fell so basically they take a lot longer to heal than the bone.”

While Wilson believes he will recover sufficiently to compete in Argentina in late April, he doesn’t want to rush his return and aggravate his injuries.

“The last thing I want to do is go there and end up going backwards with my fitness,” said Wilson. “But Greece should be a definite. I’ve still been able to work on some of my fitness while I’ve been laid up. I’ve obviously lost a lot of strength but I hope to get it back when I return. It’s just so frustrating being here on a rally but not being in a rally car.”