Theo Pourchaire will replace the injured Alexander Rossi for Arrow McLaren’s IndyCar team in Toronto

TORONTO (AP) — A broken right thumb has forced Alexander Rossi out of this weekend’s IndyCar race in Toronto and will give French driver Theo Pourchaire a chance to start his sixth race of the season, Arrow McLaren officials announced.

Rossi was injured in practice Friday when his car hit a tire barrier and then skidded into a concrete wall. The 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner already has returned to Indianapolis, where he will begin rehabbing the thumb.

It’s unclear how long Rossi will be out, but after Sunday’s race the series will take a three-week break. IndyCar’s next race is scheduled for Aug. 17 near St. Louis.

Pourchaire is expected to arrive before Saturday’s qualifying and will take over the No. 7 Chevrolet for Sunday’s race. He is the reigning F2 champion and had planned on racing in Europe this year. But his focus turned to IndyCar when McLaren brought him in as the injury replacement for David Malukas and then named him the full-time driver when the team fired Malukas for missing too many races with a broken wrist.

Then, Pourchaire ran only five races for McLaren before the team abruptly released him when 19-year-old Nolan Siegel became available.

The move stunned Pourchaire, who tried to find another seat in IndyCar but finally returned to France this week. Rossi, meanwhile, had been told in June that he and McLaren were parting ways at the end of the season.