Slater Is Expected to Miss Up to Six Weeks With Broken Foot
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Slater Is Expected to Miss Up to Six Weeks With Broken Foot

Kelly Slater injured himself Monday morning, while freesurfing up the point in Jeffreys Bay. He needed assistance making his way off site, and was taken to the hospital, where he was X-rayed (and posted the painful-looking results). The injury derails his promising start at the Corona Open J-Bay, where he had made it past Julian Wilson and Kanoa Igarashi in Round One, for a direct jump to Round Three.

Kelly grimaces in pain after breaking his foot in a free surf. Slater, after injuring himself. - WSL / Steve Sherman

With an ice pack on his foot and looking visibly dejected, he mused that the injury would not only take him out the J-Bay event, but also the Billabong Pro Tahiti next month. It's an unfortunate turn of events for the 11-time World Champ, who told the WSL last October that he was making a serious run for a twelfth Title this year. Currently sitting at No. 18 on the Jeep Leaderboard, Slater would have needed a few incredible results to get back on track, but as a four-time winner here in J-Bay he was certainly hoping to make a stand here. Now he's indeed out for this event and Tahiti...two of his favorites.

Fortunately, after the initial letdown, Kelly had put it all in perspective pretty quickly. "A broken foot is pretty minor in the scheme of things," he posted on his Instagram. "I'll make the most of my time off."

We wish Kelly a speedy recovery.

 

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