LAS VEGAS – Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch said he will have surgery Dec. 17 to remove a rod from his right leg and plates from his left foot.
The rod and plates were inserted after his Feb. 21 crash in the Xfinity Series season opener when his car slammed head-on into an unprotected concrete barrier inside Turn 1 at Daytona International Speedway.
“I am looking forward to the surgery and the opportunity to getting everything out and being able to go through the rehab and try to get back to somewhat normal and being able to not have pain every day and take the medication that I’ve got to take every day,’’ Busch said.
He admits if he wasn’t racing there wouldn’t be a need to remove the rod. Since he could be involved in another serious crash at some point in his career, it is better to have the rod removed instead of the risk of damaging it.
“I don’t know if the rods break but they bend,’’ Busch said. “The doctors were telling me that it’s a nightmare for them and for me to have to go through that.’’
Busch said one of the challenges after his surgery will be rehabbing his left foot.
“When they take the plates out of my foot, there are three or four joints that will have to be woken back up because they’ve been immobilized for like nine months,’’ he said. “I’ll have to break them back in, if you will.’’
The 30-year-old Busch admits mornings can be tough because of those injuries.
“When you get out of the bed every morning, (stuff) is popping,’’ Busch said. “It hurts. Then it starts to wake up and you start to feel better. Then you say now I’m 30, not 60.’’
