Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team suffered a blow ahead of Friday’s home In-Port Race and the subsequent third leg to Sanya, China, with one of their experienced crew’s presence doubtful due to a broken hand.

The crew member apparently injured himself at the start of the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race between Cape Town and Abu Dhabi.

Team skipper Ian Walker on Tuesday declined to name the injured party, but revealed they were keeping a close eye on his progress.

“We are considering changing one of our crew. However, he is likely to take part in the In-Port Race. He sailed the last leg with a broken hand and wasn’t very well either, so we’ve been waiting to see how he recovers. We’ll be looking at that this evening [Tuesday],” Walker said during a press briefing.

The 4,670-nautical mile voyage between Abu Dhabi and Sanya, which starts on Saturday, will be a huge test and a replacement can be expected if the crewman is not 100 per cent fit. Abu Dhabi Volvo Racing will make an official announcement on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Dongfeng Race Team announce a new crew line-up for Leg 3, with a new fourth Chinese sailor, the addition of an under-30 solo sailor and the replacement of their on-board reporter for the next leg.

The Chinese team have performed exceptionally well to position themselves in joint first place with Team Brunel and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing after the first two legs.

It will now be a challenge for skipper Charles Caudrelier to maintain that momentum with all these changes, but Team Director Bruno Dubois said the move was keeping in mind their long-term mission of training Chinese rookies from leg to leg.

Cheng Ying, also known as ‘Kit’, will join Dongfeng for the first time in the race in Leg 3 and will accompany his friend and colleague Liu Xue, a star performer on leg 2, in what will be an important leg for the team as they head to their home country.

“If we had an all-professional crew we would simply be a western project with Chinese money. That is not who we are and not what we’re about,” Dubois said. “We could have also just trained two guys and kept them on-board for each leg — but we know we have to widen the base of experience among the Chinese sailors, and that won’t happen by leaving them onshore. So it’s on the job training.”

Spanish team Mapfre have replaced their skipper Iker Martinez for the next leg. He will make way for Xabi Fernandes.