(Motorsports news) Canadian racer Lance Stroll was forced to miss last week’s pre-season testing at the Sakhir circuit after he injured himself in an accident while training for the new season. While there was uncertainty about his physical state, it looked like a major doubt whether or not he could be fit in time for this weekend. But his Silverstone-based team announced that he is set to return to action and be fit for the opening race.

Aston Martin had given an opportunity to reserve driver Felipe Drugovich as he got valuable mileage in the new AMR23 car during testing in case he needed to be called up for the main race on Sunday, and according to many rumours stated that he would be picked if Stroll was unfit. The Aston Martin team have made a incredible improvement from last season and many are calling them the dark horses for this season.

However, now that Stroll has recovered enough to be ready to get back in the car in Friday practice it will be interesting to see how he and Fernando Alonso get along. While Stroll feels fit enough to return, there still remains the possibility that the physical examination that the driver needs to pass to drive an F1 car could yet cause some problems once he returns to action. As a result, both reserve drivers Drugovich and last season’s Formula E champion Stoffel Vandoorne will remain on-site in Bahrain just in case they are needed for a late call-up.

Speaking about the events of the last week, Stroll said: “It was frustrating not to be out in Bahrain for the pre-season test and I was disappointed to miss the three days of running.However, given the injury to my wrist, the team and I felt it was best to focus on recovery so that I would be ready for this weekend and the long season ahead.”

While there had been few details released about his accident, Stroll explained that he fell off his bike after hitting a hole. “It was an unfortunate accident,” he said. “I fell from my bike when my tyre caught a hole in the ground – but thankfully the damage was not significant and a successful minor surgery on my right wrist fixed the problem very quickly. Since then, I’ve been working hard with my team to ensure that I am fully fit to compete this weekend. I would like to thank the F1 community for their support and privacy, as well as the team who have helped my recovery. Now I’m ready to get my head down and concentrate on racing this weekend – something I’m really looking forward to.”

Also read: AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost assured that F1 team will not be sold