Michael Dunlop has raised fans’ hopes that he could be back in action sooner than thought after an apparent test at Aghadowey on his MD Racing Honda Supersport machine.

Images showing Dunlop holding a crutch beside his machine were posted on his official Facebook page on Wednesday.

The Ballymoney man suffered injuries including a broken pelvis following a heavy crash at the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man earlier this month.

The 19-time Isle of Man TT winner’s home race at Armoy takes place this weekend, where Dunlop has won the last seven ‘Race of Legends’ feature races.

He skipped the event in 2018 after taking time out of the sport, but the race did not take place after the meeting was cancelled due to heavy rain.