Shoulder remains a problem for Rossi
Added on Wednesday, September 29th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Shoulder remains a problem for Rossi
Valentino Rossi has revealed that he is still suffering from the shoulder injury that has dogged him throughout the season as he heads to Japan for this weekend’s MotoGP round at Motegi.
The current world champion claimed that although the leg injury sustained at Mugello in June has healed, he is still suffering from a shoulder injury that he picked up in a motocross accident earlier in the season.
The injury has led to speculation that Rossi, who is due to leave Yamaha and switch to Ducati at the end of the season, could miss the end of the year to begin his recovery although neither Rossi nor Yamaha has confirmed that such an arrangement has been agreed.
A contractual issue already threatens to prevent Rossi from testing with Ducati at the traditional post-season test in Valencia and Rossi has again suggested that he would prefer a longer rehabilitation period to recover from his injury.
“Aragon was a hard weekend, both because we couldn’t find the right setting for our M1 and because I had a lot of trouble with my shoulder,” he claimed. “The leg is now almost back to normal again – I have even started running – but the shoulder is a problem and we know now that this is not going to change until we have time to treat it properly.
Rossi did however seem to commit to the next three races of the season, with the “fly-away” rounds of Malaysia and Australia next up after this weekend in Motegi.
“I have some great memories from Motegi, especially winning the championship in 2008, but I am expecting this weekend to be quite difficult on my body,” he added. “We have a hard three weeks ahead but after this race two of my best tracks are coming up, and I am hoping for some good results. We will do our best and see what happens!”
