Thomas on the road to recovery.

Hawk Kawasaki's Dean Thomas is making a full recovery following his high speed tangle with Rizla Suzuki's James Haydon at round seven of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Snetterton.

The incident happened on lap eleven of race two, when Haydon, who was suffering from brake fade, ran over the grass at the Esses and unfortunately collided with Thomas, who was already through the Esses and heading for the next turn. "When I hit the brakes the bike initially stopped well, but as I tried to increase the pressure, the lever came right back and I ran out of brakes," said Haydon, "With the worst luck possible I arrived on the same spot of tarmac as Dean at exactly the same time as Dean, I tried to avoid him but couldn't."

Thomas has put it down to a racing incident saying: "James came to see me in hospital and he was very upset about what had happened. I'm not going to point the finger at him it was just an accident."

It was a particularly horrific smash with Thomas breaking four ribs and puncturing his right lung. "I'm out of hospital now and on the mend, but I remember everything from the crash. James out braked himself and was struggling to stay on the tarmac. I ran in deep and hard and had accelerated hard to get away. Next thing I know I get hit in the back and that was it," he said.

Thomas' injuries were received on the initial impact with Haydon as he explains: "There was a crunch on impact and that is when I broke my four ribs and punctured my lung. I just couldn't get a breath and I remember seeing a flash of pale blue that was when I realised who had hit me. I don't really remember the fall as I still couldn't breathe; it wasn't until the marshals got to me and the medics put a needle into my lung just to get some air in."

The Medical team had to move Thomas to the medical centre for further treatment before he could be sent to hospital. "They took me to the Med centre and put a tube in to re-inflate my lung and all that was done with no anaesthetic, so it tickled a bit! I was conscious all the way through - they just gave me oxygen," continued a brave Thomas.

As well as the broken ribs and punctured lung he has also sustained a lot of muscle damage and has fluid on his back. He was discharged from hospital the Thursday after the crash but had to go in again when his local doctor discovered he had an infection in his lung. "I had to go back in on the Monday as my stitches burst and we discovered that I had an infection and the bottom quarter of my lung wasn't working. So I had to have a load of antibiotics for that. I just thought I was struggling for breath because of what had happened, I didn't realise it was the infection!" he commented.

At the moment Thomas is struggling with movement: "I can't sit up or down, and I need help getting up. I can't move my arms much as I have a gash under one and a lot of bruising under the other. Once I'm on my feet I'm OK, I just can't do too much."

Riders can't wait to get back from injury and race again and Thomas is no exception, he is planning his comeback already: "Knockhill is definitely out and Oulton Park is unlikely but the plan is to be back for Croft," he concluded.