Pedrosa out for four weeks
Added on Thursday, March 5th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Pedrosa out for four weeks
Dani Pedrosa is almost certain to miss the final MotoGP test before the new season at Jerez later this month and could miss the start of the new season after doctors successfully completed a skin graft operation on his left knee.
Doctors in Barcelona confirmed that the Repsol Honda rider has lost movement in his knee for at least three weeks and will not be able to bend it for at least four weeks following the operation, adding further disruption to the pre-season perpetrations of the Spaniard.
The lay-off will certainly rule him out of the final test of the season at Jerez and could even see him missing the first round of the season in Losail in April.
Pedrosa aggravated injuries to both his left knee and hand following a highside crash at Losail on Monday, forcing him to miss the final day of testing and fly to Barcelona for medical checks with later revealed a radial fracture in his wrist and a “loss of internal matter” in his knee.
Having also missed the opening day of the Qatar test due to poor weather and much of the Sepang test due to injury, Pedrosa has had little opportunity to test the 2009 RC212V ahead of the season opener back in Qatar on April 12.
“Dani Pedrosa received a graft on the open [knee] wound using a rotation graft – a graft of skin and fat taken from the inside of his left thigh – to cover the affected area,” stated Dr. Bartolomé Ferreira. “We must now wait for scar tissue to form; the patient will be able to start moving a little within three weeks and within a minimum of four he can begin to bend the leg.”
Dr. Xavier Mir, who assisted with the three-hour operation, believes that the forearm fracture should heal more quickly: “The fracture on the left distal radius, which was affecting the joint, has been repaired; it was then fixed with a titanium screw. The functioning of the affected zone will begin within ten days; in the meantime Dani Pedrosa will stay in hospital for the next 72 hours.”
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