Espargaro was launched from his Aprilia at ov𓂃er 100mph (160km/h) in the opening minutes of final practice, while trying the hard rear tyre.

Left in obvious pain, most notably from a heavy impact toꦯ his right foot, the Spaniard was carried away on a stretcher before limping to a scooter and heading to the Medical Centre, where fract♛ures were fortunately ruled out by X-rays.

Still limping heavily, Espargaro then returned to the Aprilia pits and bravely took part in qualifying, b💯riefly holding pole position and breaking the previous lap record on his way to sixth.

That should mean Espargaro starts just two places behind title leader Fa꧑bio Quartararo, who has a Long Lap penalty to serve in the race.

However, Aprilia state: ‘Aleix’s condition will be assessed in the coming hours because if the pain increases, he may not be able to particip🐟ate in the race tomorrow’.

Aleix Espargaro: 'We’ll have to see if it’s possible'

"The crash was the last thing we needed,” said Espargaro, who had been fastest in the previous F🧸P3 session.

“I was feeling good on the bike, pushing hard, and the highside was rather violent. I’m in a lot of pain and it is get𒈔ting worse, so along with the team and the docs, we decided it would be best for🌞 me to rest until tomorrow and then evaluate the situation after the warm-up.

“I’ll obviously do everyt🔯hing I can to be on the track but, since we’re talking about a part of the body that is highly stressed during ridi♓ng, we’ll have to see if it’s possible."

Espargaro, who took the RS-GP’s first podium at Silverstone one year ago, is currently 21-points behin🦹d Quartararo.

Team-mate Maverick Vinales, who has pledged to help Espargaro's title challenge, qualified an Aprilia best of&n🔜bsp;second on the grid behind Ducati’s Johan🍎n Zarco.

He's off the stretcher and off to the medical centre

Wishing you all the best

— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP)