JASON Crump admits his preparations for the new season are behind schedule as he struggles to recover from the arm injury which threatened to cost him last year's world title.

JASON Crump admits his preparations for the new season are behind schedule as he struggles to recover from the arm injury which threatened to cost him last year's world title.

The Australian underwent a skin graft after badly burning his upper left arm in a crash at Belle Vue's Elite League meeting with Ipswich on September 14.

Crump bravely rode through the pain barrier to notch four points at the Italian Grand Prix on September 26. This was before he bagged the eight points he needed to guarantee his third world crown at the Polish round in Bydgoszcz on October 17.

The 34-year-old still has plenty of time to get back to full fitness for the new SGP season, with the opening round at Leszno just under three months away on April 24.

Crump hopes to be ready to appear in the Ben Fund Bonanza charity meeting at Rye House on March 14. But the Poole asset admits he was hoping to be back on track at this stage.

He told the Daily Star: “I thought I'd be riding again by now but my arm still isn't strong enough. I lost half of my bicep muscles, but they are slowly coming back.”

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