Champ KTM MX2 World Championship rider Marc De Reuver is certain to miss the first half of the 2005 season after breaking three ligaments in his left knee as a result of a crash while racing at Gemert in his native Holland last weekend.

The Amsterdam-born factory KTM representative will undergo surgery today (Wednesday) and a further update on his projected recovery time will be issued by the end of the week along with an announcement for temporary replacement plans within the Dutch team.

It is another bitter blow for De Reuver who missed half of the 2004 MX2 series after fracturing two vertebrae during the German Grand Prix at
Teutschenthal.