Greg Murphy may miss Phillip Island

Greg Murphy could miss the first of the endurance rounds at Phillip Island after emergency surgery on a bulged disc in his lower back.

Murphy collapsed at his home last Friday, and underwent surgery at the weekend.

With the Phillip Island round on 12th September, this leaves little time for the New Zealander to recuperate.

“I would like to think it’s a 50/50 chance – that would be very good odds – but it’s just too early to tell whether I’m going to make [the island] or not,” Murphy said.

“I had a bulged disc in my lower back, the L5, which pushed the nerve off to the side and created a problem with my left leg.

“That caused a major strength loss [in my left leg] and I need that back as I left foot brake, a key component of my driving,” he said.

The Castrol EDGE Racing team, run by Paul Morris Motorsport, already has a trio of drivers scheduled to join Murphy at the next three meetings, with Tim Blanchard set to share the Holden Commodore at Phillip Island, Danish sportscar driver Allan Simonsen joining the team for the Bathurst 1000km, and WTCC driver Yvan Muller at the Gold Coast 600 at Surfers Paradise.

Murphy’s confident though that he’ll be ready for Bathurst, a race he last won in 2004.

“I want to make sure I’m right, I don’t want to go to Phillip Island half okay with just a few weeks until the biggest race of the year,” said Murphy.

“The way I am up and about already is encouraging, so Bathurst seems a very safe bet.

“I don’t think there’s any chance that I will miss having a crack at another win on the Mountain.”