Just 15 days after breaking his left collarbone at Assen, Lorenzo’s latest accident has resulted in damage to the titanium plate in the champion’s left shoulder; a further operation is now required.
Friday started well for the reigning title holder, who confidently returned from his dramatic Assen weekend to top the timesheets in opening practice.
Lorenzo’s crash occurred while he was running quickest in the afternoon session. The Yamaha Factory Racing rider lost control at Turn 10, highsiding his bike and landing heavily on his left shoulder. The Mallorcan was taken to the Clinica Mobile, where examinations indicated that the eight screws in his shoulder were in tact but that the titanium plate itself had been bent by the impact.
Lorenzo underwent further checks in the circuit Medical Centre, including an x-ray, and it was first suggested that he would require a rest period of 24 to 48 hours before any further surgery could take place. It was then confirmed that he would return to Barcelona for an operation (date and time TBC).
“For sure, he is not going to come back here,” Team Director Massimo Meregalli told motogp.com. “He should be operated on tomorrow morning and then he will inform us, probably on Sunday morning, whether he will be back at Laguna – because at the moment it doesn’t look like he will be.”
“I have decided to go home and recover after today’s crash at the Sachsenring,” Lorenzo is quoted as saying in a team press release. “I prefer to focus on surgery to fix the plate that was unfortunately bent during the crash. I will try to recover and be back as soon as possible.”
It remains to be seen as to whether he will be able to return for the Laguna Seca race next weekend.
source:Motogp.com
