Top doc warns Stoner over surgery
Added on Thursday, October 9th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
Top doc warns Stoner over surgery
A leading MotoGP doctor has warned Casey Stoner that the rider’s planned surgery at the end of the season may not solve his current problems.
MotoGP doctor Claudio Costa has warned the Australian that surgery to fix a broken scaphoid in his right hand carries notable risks which have ended the careers of several notable riders.
The outgoing world champion had himself admitted last week that the operation was necessary in order to save his career.
“We have to have an operation, if we don’t then it could be our career over so it’s disappointing that five years after getting an operation, that it starts to flair up now,” he said.
The Ducati rider said that three doctors in three different countries had told him surgery was “indispensable” although Costa has warned that the operation could be dangerous, especially after the Australian showed no problems while riding to victory in last Sunday’s race.
“If Stoner manages to ride the way he did on Sunday, then getting surgery could be risky,” Costa was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport.
“That’s because it’s an area where blood supply is scarce, and there is the possibility that the bone doesn’t rebuild itself.
“Something like that forced Kevin Schwantz and Doriano Romboni to quit.”
