Stoner returns after medical tests
Added on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Stoner returns after medical tests
Casey Stoner has revealed that he has been suffering from a slight gastritis and mild anaemia but the Australian will race in Germany this weekend.
The 2007 champion was visibly drained following the Catalan Grand Prix back in June following an unknown illness and reported fitness problems again at Assen and Laguna Seca two weeks ago.
Stoner pinpointed the illness as a factor in two disappointing results in the last two rounds and after his fourth place finish in California, Stoner remained in the States to undergo medical tests to determine the cause of the illness.
After determining the cause of Stoner’s weakness, doctor’s claimed that the 23-year-old will be back to full fitness “within a matter of weeks”, with Stoner undergoing treatment both before and after this weekend’s Grand Prix at Sachsenring.
“I have been in USA until Saturday to do all the tests,” said Stoner. “First of all I’d like to thanks all the Doctors involved in this, Dr. Ting and Dr. Tuan in the Fremont Surgery Center, Dr. Macchiagodena, Dr. Catani, Dr. Ceccarelli and of course my physiotherapist Freddy. Hopefully step by step I will feel better with their indications.
“I still don’t feel like I am 100% but the biggest problem now is the ribs that are very painful after the crash in the USA GP Qualifying. It will be probably another hard week end, but as always, we will do our best to stay as much as possible close to the lead of the Championship”.
Ducati boss Livio Suppo was quick to back his rider, claiming that Casey could overcome the illness and get his title challenge back on track.
“This is a delicate time for Casey but we know he is made of stern stuff,” claimed Suppo. “He will continue to fight like a lion, as he has done in the past few races, even though the crash at Laguna left its mark on him and that certainly won’t help.”
