Valentino Rossi is considering shoulder surgery before the MotoGP season ends
MOTEGI, JAPAN, SEPT 30 – Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi is facing an uncertain future as he continues to struggle with the shoulder injury he suffered in a motocross accident near the start of the season.
Rossi was hoping the shoulder would improve over the course of the year, but it hasn’t. And it’s gotten no better since the Aragon Grand Prix two weeks ago. Surgery is in Rossi’s future, but when he goes under the knife is critical. If Yamaha releases him to test the Ducati GP11 straight after the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix, he’ll likely put the surgery off until early November. If they tell him he can’t test, he may have the surgery straight away, though his goal is to finish out the season.
“Unfortunately the shoulder is the same,” Rossi said on the eve of the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, the first of three races on consecutive weekends. “I don’t want to give up and I want to try and arrive at the end of the season, but I have to think about it race by race and day by day. On paper this track is the worst one for the shoulder because have a lot of hard braking on the right. After Malaysia, Phillip Island may be better, but three races in a row is not very good. But I try to resist and to arrive at the end of the championship. This is the target.”
Rossi said the damage to the shoulder is clear. There’s damage to the tendon and the shoulder socket. The surgery would involve re-attaching the tendon, then putting a small anchor into the socket to reattach the damaged bone section. “It is a 100 per cent recovery,” Rossi said, adding that he’s not worried about the pain. “I’m not scared about the pain in that hour and a half because you don’t feel pain. I’m more scared about the next two months.”
Photo Gallery: Valentino Rossi considering surgery before season ends - Sport Rider Magazine
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