Jonathan Rea undergoes surgery on knee injury that forced him to miss final World Superbike race of his full-time racing career
Jonathan Rea has undergone surgery on his injured knee almost two weeks on from his final World Superbike race.
The six-time world champion sustained the injury when he crashed in the Superpole race at Jerez in Spain last month, forcing Rea to miss the final race of the season and the last race of his full-time career following his decision to retire.
The 38-year-old was initially assessed at the circuit medical centre at Jerez after crashing with Remy Gardner on the opening lap of the Superpole race. He was later declared unfit due to a functional impairment of his injured knee.
Rea also crashed out of the opening race of the weekend at Jerez in a disappointing farewell for the Pata Maxus Yamaha rider.
He underwent an operation at Kingsbridge Private Hospital in Belfast this week and thanked his surgeon in a social media post on Instagram.
“Successful surgery this morning on my knee,” Rea posted on Thursday.
“Huge thanks to Dr. Pooler Archbald and his team at Kingsbridge Private Hospital for taking such good care of me!”
Rea’s final World Superbike weekend as a full-time rider didn’t play out as he had hoped, but he said he was looking forward to the start of a “new story”.
“I was frustrated to go down, and to be ruled out of my last race isn't how I wanted to write the end of the story,” Rea said. “I also have to be very content. I'm happy to close the chapter.
“It hasn't been the dream I imagined the last few seasons. It's the end of a story I'm happy to get out of and start a new story.”
The Ulsterman has been strongly linked to a new role in 2026 as a test rider for the Honda World Superbike team, with the possibility of some wildcard appearances.
He is the most successful World Superbike rider in history, winning six titles in succession with the Kawasaki Racing Team between 2015 and 2020.
Rea also claimed a record 119 victories during his 17-year WSBK career and claimed 264 podiums.
He has previous history with Honda and made his World Superbike debut with the manufacturer at the end of the 2008 season.
In 2014, Rea was third in the championship on a below-par Honda Fireblade, ultimately earning him the opportunity to ride for Kawasaki the following year, when he duly delivered the first of his six world crowns during an unprecedented era of dominance.
After nine years, he joined Yamaha for a new challenge in 2024, finishing 13th overall in the championship after a challenging first season the R1.
A foot injury sustained in a crash during testing in February this year forced Rea to miss the opening three rounds of the championship and he ended the campaign in 16th position.
Rea’s best result as a Yamaha rider was third in the Superpole race last year at Donington Park.
His seat in the Yamaha World Superbike team has been taken over for 2026 by former factory Honda rider Xavi Vierge, who joins Italy’s Andrea Locatelli in the line-up.
Spaniard Vierge tested the Yamaha R1 for the first time at the post-season test in Jerez last month.