Jose Joaquin Rojas got his season off to a terrible start when he crashed out of the Tour Down Under with a broken scaphoid. However, the recovery is going well and the fast Spaniard may be back in competition already later this month.

Things were looking very good for Jose Joaquin Rojas when he sprinted to 5th in the People's Choice Classic which preceded the opening WorldTour race of the season, the Tour Down Under. Two days later, however, he found himself on the ground in Angaston, having hit the deck as the peloton sped towards the finish on the opening day of the stage race.

Rojas finished the stage and was given the same time as the winner but subsequent examinations revealed a scaphoid fracture. He had to undergo an operation and faced a long recovery period.

Back in Europe, he is now pretty optimistic and hopes that he will be back in competition before the end of the month.

"I don't think [it takes a long time to get back]," he told El Peloton. "I might be able to do Andalucia, Algarve or Haut Var. The recovery is going well and I am back on the road. I hope not to lose my shape."

The crash came at an unfortunate time as Rojas felt that things were going well.

"In Australia it [the form] was good, but the ten-day break, the operation etc. have had a bad effect, he said. "I will get back to work, get to the point where I was and take m y opportunities."

Rojas' role as a sprinter makes him an unusual Movistar rider as the team is usually more focused on its stage race riders. His last win dates back to 2012 when he won a stage in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and last year he didn't get many personal opportunities as he had to work for his captains.

"That's true," he said when asked if his new role had taken away his focus from the sprints. "I have less focus and has a role that hurts my chances. But in the end we are a team. Of course I'll do what is asked of me, what is needed of me. If I have to sprint, I will sprint; if I have to work on the front, I will work on the front. No problem!"

The Tour du Haut Var starts on February 22 while the Vuelta a Andalucia and the Volta ao Algarve kick off three days earlier.