Le Mans MotoGP: Cal Crutchlow diagnosed with leg fracture

The Tech 3 Yamaha rider had a violent fall at La Chappelle in practice four.

The accident caused a red flag as Crutchlow was initially unable to get up.

But he eventually walked away unaided and went on to take part in qualifying, taking fourth on the grid.

A subsequent examination revealed a fracture to his tibial plateau.

"I went out with a different setting on the bike and instead of taking one lap to get used to it, I went for my usual lap and we'd changed something in one area and the tyre wasn't up to temperature and I crashed," Crutchlow told the official MotoGP website.

"This crash hurt. I have a small fracture in the top of my shin bone, on the side of my knee, and that's very painful.

"I also have some bruising inside the stomach and on the lungs. I was coughing some blood and had a big nosebleed. But we race motorcycles...

"The main concern is I have some pain internally but we will assess the situation in the morning.

"I'm fine. The bleeding from my mouth and my nose has stopped now so we can look forward to the race."

MotoGP medical staff are concerned that overnight swelling could cause problems for Crutchlow on race day so he will have to be examined again before Sunday morning's warm-up to confirm whether he is fit to ride.