For a moment Carl Fogarty's fans throughout the world feared the World Superbike Champion was dead yesterday.

Millions of TV viewers saw Fogarty hurled into the gravel after running into Austrian rider Robert Ulm at Phillip Island, Australia.

The Blackburn rider was unconscious for 15 minutes after the 140mph smash before coming round at the track medical centre.

But today as he recovered in a Melbourne hospital after a three-hour operation to repair a triple fracture of his arm Carl's wife Michaela vowed that the horrific crash would not end his career.

At the start of the season, Fogarty insisted that he would quit racing if he suffered any major injuries this season.

But Michaela said: "I'm not going to let him quit like this.

"It will be a long haul back but, when he has come to his senses, I don't think he will want to quit." X-rays at the Phillip Island circuit revealed three fractures of his humerus near the shoulder joint.

Australian surgeons inserted a pin and a plate earlier today.

Michaela, who spent the night at Carl's bedside, said the rider could be out of action for up to two months. And that would ruin the chances of a fifth world title.

She said today: "When he came round, he knew what year it was, what month it was and what day it was.

"But he doesn't remember anything about the race. He doesn't even remember starting the race.

"I have no idea why Ulm pulled out while Carl was behind him."

Fogarty was air-lifted to Melbourne in a helicopter, heavily sedated with morphine.

Michaela added: "The doctors have said that it will be six to eight weeks before he can start to do any kind of physio.

"There is also the possibility of nerve damage in his arm and there was a lot of blood building up in the joint." Fogarty is expected to remain in Australia for up to a week before returning to Blackburn.

But Michaela added: "My main concern is that he's alive."

Fogarty had finished second in a wet first race and Troy Corser, who won the second, dedicated the win to his former team-mate.