Kawasaki Superbike racer Tommy Hayden is riding with a broken left hand in this weekend’s AMA Superbike Championship event at Miller Motorsports Park (MMP). Hayden suffered the injury when he crashed his factory ZX-10R Superbike during AMA team testing June 7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car course and slid into a wall. Hayden instantly knew he injured his hand in the crash but didn’t find out he had broken a bone until Monday, June 12. “I had an MRI Friday (June 9), but it didn’t show up,” Hayden told Roadracingworld.com Friday after Superbike practice at MMP. “Over the weekend I was doing therapy and getting treatments, and I knew something was wrong. I’ve broken a few bones in my life, and it sure didn’t feel right to me. We went back Monday to look specifically for it and found it.” Hayden was found to have a fractured trapezium bone, which is located near the scaphoid at the base of the thumb but is not as slow to heal as the scaphoid. Doctors, including famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Arthur Ting, have told Hayden the bone will heal with a few weeks of immobilization. Still, the fracture is causing Hayden great pain while riding this weekend. “I’m just cruising around right now,” said Hayden. “That last little bit of speed is where it gets hard. I’m having trouble under braking and turning in and holding the bike down in the left-handers. The bike is, actually, working really good, so that’s the most frustrating part.” Hayden was fifth-fastest in Friday morning AMA Superbike practice at MMP.