LEON Haslam has fractured his right tibia and left ankle in a crash ahead of this weekend's World Superbike season opener in Australia.

The Smalley star came off his BMW at the exit of the Phillip Island circuit's Swan corner on the first session of official testing.

Haslam was last night set to undergo surgery in Melbourne to insert a screw in his injured leg.

A decision on whether or not he is able to compete in the first round of the championship will be made later this week.

"This is just a disappointing situation, as we were making good progress," said Haslam, who recorded the fifth-fastest lap time of 1:32.397 before his crash.

"Right from the start, my lap times were not bad. The crash was quite a big highsider just before the start-finish straight.

"I landed on my heels and I thought I could have fractured them. The scans later showed I had fractured the end of my right tibia instead.

"On top of this, I broke a small bone in my left foot but this should not be a big issue.

"I now shall keep my fingers crossed that the surgery goes well and I will be back on the bike very soon."