Gibernau to miss Mugello after surgery
Added on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Gibernau to miss Mugello after surgery
Sete Gibernau is definitely out of the Italian Grand Prix in two weeks after undergoing surgery on a broken collarbone sustained during practice at Le Mans at the weekend.
The Spaniard, who missed Sunday’s French Grand Prix following an accident in second practice, faces four weeks on the sidelines following yesterday’s surgery in Barcelona yesterday and is rated as “touch and go” for the Catalunya Grand Prix in his home city on June 14.
The operation to fit supportive plate to Gibernau’s collarbone was undertaken without complications by Doctors Xavier Mir, who operated extensively on Jorge Lorenzo last year, and Ignacio Ginebreda in Barcelona. The veteran rider is likely to be released from hospital later today.
The team managers of the Grupo Francisco Hernando outfit, for whom Gibernau rides, are expected to make a decision about a possible replacement rider in the coming days.
Speaking following Gibernau’s decision to sit out of Sunday’s race, team manager Pablo Nieto said: “It is a real shame and it is very bad luck because Sete was already coming back from a shoulder injury and had been improving steadily.”
“Obviously what we do next will all hinge on how much time he needs to recover which could be longer than for a young rider. It is really tough for the whole team to accept, including for Sete himself of course, because we are all giving so much effort to this project.”
