Davidson breaks back at Le Mans

Toyota's Anthony Davidson broke his back after a horrific crash at the Le Mans 24 Hour race in France.

The British driver was in the opening stages of his first stint and was hunting down the leaders when he was hit by Piergiuseppe Perazzini, while lapping the Ferrari driver.

The contact sent Davidson into the air, and his car spectacularly somersaulted. Fortunately, he landed on his wheels before slamming into the barriers at high speed.

Initial reports had suggested that the 33-year-old, who also works as an F1 analyst for Sky Sports, emerged without serious injury from the incident after he was checked over by circuit medical staff.

However, after being taken to a local hospital the full extent of the damage was revealed.

"Anthony was taken to the hospital nearby for a precautionary check here at Le Mans, which then revealed two broken vertebrae in his back," a Toyota spokesman told Sky Sports.

"He will remain in hospital here until Monday at which point we will find out more about the impact in the coming days," he added. "The good news is that these are injuries he can recover from over a period of time and we will have to be patient and hopefully he can come back stronger than ever."

Davidson broke the news to his fans via Twitter, "Well that was a big one! Lying in a French hospital with a broken back wasn't what I had in mind at this stage in the race. Gutted for the Toyota Hybrid team who did an amazing job all week. Thank god I can follow the race on Twitter though!"