Dario Franchitti discharged from hospital after surgery

Ashley Judd's race car driver husband Dario Franchitti has been discharged from hospital after undergoing ankle surgery to treat injuries sustained in a horrifying crash at the Houston Grand Prix in Texas.

The three-time Indy500 champion suffered concussion, a fractured spine, and a fractured right ankle after colliding with fellow competitor Takuma Sato and slamming into a fence on 6 October (13).

He was released from Memorial-Hermann Texas Medical Center in Houston on 10 October (13), but was back under doctors' care in Indianapolis, Indiana on Monday (14Oct13), when surgeons performed a three-hour procedure on his right ankle to repair the talus bone.

He was released from hospital on Thursday (17Oct13), when he was photographed leaving the facility in a wheelchair, and will now continue his recovery process at home.

However, Franchitti is already eyeing a return to the track - sources tell TMZ.com the driver is aiming to get "back on the racetrack" in time for the start of next season, which begins in the spring (14).

Meanwhile, Franchitti's actress wife, who rushed to the sports star's side after the crash, has headed to Virginia to start work on a movie adaptation of Adriana Trigiani's novel Big Stone Gap.

Judd will portray lead character Ave Maria Mulligan, a self-proclaimed spinster who discovers a shocking secret from her mother's past. Watchmen star Patrick Wilson will also feature in the forthcoming film.