Price suffered the injury when he tumbled off his KTM motorbike after 371km of the fourth stage from San Salvador de Jujuy in Argentina to Tupiza in Bolivia as the 9,000km race climbed into the dizzying altitudes of the Andes.

Earlier in the day, Qatari two-time auto winner Nasser Al Attiyah was also forced to pull out, his Toyota team said.

The 46-year-old, the 2011 and 2015 champion, did not start Thursday's stage after losing the wheel of his car during the previous day's special, leaving him down in 25th in the overall standings overnight.