Rossi says shoulder progressing well

The Italian rider, who struggled with his shoulder since injuring it in a training accident in April, has been recovering since he underwent surgery following the end of the season.

On Tuesday, ten stitches were removed from his right shoulder and Rossi will now begin "passive" rehabilitation work before he starts the active phase in two weeks' time.

 

"I'm doing the rehabilitation at the shoulder, the situation is improving," said Rossi on his website. "Two weeks have passed since the operation and this morning Dr. Porcellini took away the stitches.

"From today I will be back to work in the gym - at least for the rest of the body - and to make the rehabilitation of the shoulder, even if 'passive'; above all not to lose mobility.

 

"In about two weeks I will begin to work actively in the pool and gym to be ready for the three days of testing in February. We must make haste, but we hope to be fit for the first test with Ducati in 2011 in Sepang."

Rossi 'quite happy' with Misano practice

 

The Italian, who has taken one podium from the four races since his return from a broken leg, was 0.767sec behind fastest man Dani Pedrosa - but only 0.155sec from second placed Andrea Dovizioso and less than a tenth from Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, in third.

"I'm quite happy because we did a good job during today's practice, especially towards the end when we made a big improvement to the setting of the bike and I was able to make some faster lap times," said Rossi, who will join Ducati next season.

"We have some more things to try, some electronics and some tyre settings, but I already feel confident so this has been a good way to start. We're quite far from Pedrosa, who was very impressive today, but we're close to Dovizioso and Lorenzo. 

"Tomorrow we will try to find some tenths and improve our time a bit. 

"My physical condition is okay, I don't have too much pain but this track has two or three hard braking sections to the right and I suffer a bit with my shoulder at those points," he added.

Rossi fracture pinned during successful surgery

 

Rossi was flung from his Fiat Yamaha at highspeed on entry to Turn 13 and was clearly in considerable pain as he lay in the gravel trap. Initially taken to the circuit medical centre, Rossi was then transferred by helicopter to hospital in Florence where he underwent immediate surgery.

Rossi was operated on by Dr. Roberto Buzzi and assisted by Dr. Claudio Costa of the Clinica Mobile. Dr. Buzzi made the following statement following the 2.5 hour operation:

"We received Valentino Rossi at the Careggi Hospital, where we made detailed checks in order to rule out any other injuries, and the results were satisfactory. We therefore decided to proceed with the surgery for the exposed fracture of the right leg. We performed a spinal block (epidural) and cleaned and washed the fracture, which was then aligned and stabilised with a pin.

“The surgery had good results; the alignment was good and the bone is now stable. The wound remains open, as is usual in these cases, and it will be stitched in the next few days with another short surgery. We are confident that Valentino will be able to leave the hospital in a week to ten days, able to put weight on the leg with the aid of crutches.

"It is difficult to say how long the post surgery rehabilitation will take, we need to evaluate the progress of the patient and also what the x-rays will show. But I think that we can reasonably think of six weeks partial weight-bearing with crutches, after which Valentino needs to be re-evaluated, according to his feedback and further x-rays."

Six weeks on crutches surely rules Rossi out of the next six rounds, up to and including Laguna Seca on July 20, after which the summer break begins.

"It was a very sad day today for Yamaha and the Fiat Yamaha Team, seeing Vale in so much pain and seriously injured for the first time in his career,” said Lin Jarvis, managing director of Yamaha Motor Racing.

“It is especially tough for Vale to have this accident at his home Grand Prix and this w ill surely be a huge disappointment for him and for all his fans here at the Mugello circuit and around the world.

“As a team we are very deflated right now because we had our two riders challenging for the championship lead and now that challenge is over - at least for the immediate future. We wish Vale the very best for a speedy recovery and hope to have him back with us as soon as possible."

Rossi is presently second in the 2010 MotoGP World Championship, nine points behind team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who will start Sunday's race from second on the grid. Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa starts on pole with Ducati's Casey Stoner third.

Rossi's injury brings an end to 230 consecutive grand prix appearances since his 125cc debut in 1996.

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Yamaha not eager to replace Rossi

 

 

 

Rossi is set to be out of action for months after breaking his right leg in a crash during practice for the Italian Grand Prix.

Brivio admitted there are no obvious candidates available to replace Rossi.

 

"If it was up to us we wouldn't replace Valentino, but the contracts force us to," Brivio was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport, which writes that Yamaha will not replace Rossi for the next two races.

"We have two test riders, but they are a bit slow, and to see an excessive gap among riders isn't nice. Unfortunately it's difficult to find an available rider at MotoGP level."

 

Gazzetta dello Sport also says one of the candidates to replace Rossi is Superbike rider Cal Crutchlow, while it is believed Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards is also among the favourites for the seat.

Yamaha crew chief Jeremy Burgess told the newspaper that he expected Rossi to be able to return to action for the Czech Grand Prix in August.

"I think that, if everything goes well, he'll be back in Brno. He may even do it for Laguna Seca, but there's no pressure," Burgess said.

 

MotoGP doctor Claudio Costa said, however, that only the latest technology would help Rossi come back ahead of schedule.

"I'm stepping off the pitch now, it's up to science to heal him," said Costa. "The recovery time to heal the fracture is what has been mentioned, four or five months. But I'm the race doctor: if someone wants to chase an impossible dream I think that we need hoping to make it come true.

"If Valentino goes the traditional way, then the hyperbaric chamber (for hyperbaric oxygen therapy - HBOT) is an option, but he doesn't need it at the moment. But if a rider wants to do the impossible, then it needs to be done."

Brivio added: "First of all let's think of a recovery from a human point of view, it's difficult to make predictions. In one and a half months we'll understand when he is ready."

 

"The title is lost, so to come back after three races of after seven makes no difference, just like it makes no different to end the championship in third or tenth place," Brivio told Motosprint.

 

"The only thing that counts is Valentino's health, since his career won't certainly end for this incident."

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Rossi hints at staying in MotoGP 'many more years'

Speculation has been building of late that once he is well enough to come back, Rossi might elect to call time on his extraordinary career on two wheels and switch to four, either by indulging his second love of rallying on a full-time basis or – in a move that would no doubt delight many fans of both MotoGP and F1 – turn his occasional 'just-for-fun' testing outings for Ferrari into something altogether rather more serious and join the grand prix grid.

The Italian, however, has hinted that far from hanging up his motorcycling record, he is in no frame of mind to call it a day just yet. There are, after all, even more records to be set.

“Sincerely, I haven't felt any fear,” the 31-year-old underlined, when asked if he had considered over the past week quitting the sport. “I was a bit horrified when I saw the leg, yes...but the thing I dislike the most is to miss so many races! I will take all the time I need and be sure not to do anything stupid because I want to return quickly, but only if my condition allows it. I know I have a bike for next year and I don't need to rush my return to demonstrate anything. 

“I could miss just four races, but I still wouldn't come back to win the championship. It's better to be careful, finish the rehabilitation in the best way and come back to race for many more years. I've heard of many other sportsmen – a lot in fact – who have had the same problem as me. One example for everyone – Mark Webber called me, and he has had an exposed fracture of the right leg. He told me to be very patient and that I would have some moments of discomfort, but that in the end recovery is guaranteed.

“Now I have a lot of time at home to rest, to recover and to think. Firstly, I want to use this time to improve some things. I want to improve my English, learn something new, read a lot. Basically, I want to improve and learn. This I will do for sure. This incident will not influence my choices for next year in any way. Last Saturday hasn't changed anything – I just have one broken leg extra! The result of 2010 has never been relevant to my decisions for the future.”

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Rossi says Laguna tougher on injuries

 

The world champion made a spectacular return to action in Germany, just six weeks after breaking his leg in a Mugello practice crash, and with discomfort from his April shoulder injury still lingering. Rossi was around the top six all weekend at the Sachsenring, and finished fourth in the race - only losing third to Casey Stoner at the final corner.

 

Although he was sixth again in Friday practice in America, Rossi admitted the Laguna track had been harder on his body.

"This track is a bit harder for me than Sachsenring and I have more pain than I had there, mostly in the ankle but also in the shoulder at the braking point before the Corkscrew," he said.

 

But he is certain he can still be quick enough this weekend even if it is proving to be a stern physical challenge.

 

"Aside from that I think we can be better tomorrow," said Rossi. "We haven't put everything together yet to be at our full potential on the track and if we had a few more laps today we could have been a bit further up."

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Ducati announces two-year Rossi deal

 

 

 

Rossi's move to Ducati has been regarded as near-certain by MotoGP insiders for several months, and this afternoon at Brno Yamaha issued a statement announcing that it was parting company with the Italian legend after seven years together - during which Rossi has won four world championships and 45 grands prix so far.

 

Rumours of a Rossi-Ducati deal first surfaced last autumn, when Rossi hinted that Yamaha would ultimately have to choose between him and Jorge Lorenzo as he did not believe it could sustain two equal number one riders. He indicated at the time that Ducati would be his alternative if he split with Yamaha, and a deal was believed to have been done during Rossi's injury layoff earlier this year.

 

Ducati president Gabriele Del Torchio was thrilled that Italy's motorcycle racing hero was finally joining the nation's top MotoGP team.

"We are delighted to announce that Valentino Rossi will be with us from 2011," he said. "He is a paragon of excellence in the world of motorcycling, coherent with our Italian company which is a standard-bearer for 'made in Italy' excellence. These are key values for success in technology, design and sportsmanship."

 

The company's sporting boss Filippo Preziosi was equally pleased - but added that Ducati would continue to race hard against Rossi for the remainder of 2010.

"Firstly, Valentino is a great fan of motorcycles and so it has always been a pleasure for me to listen his opinions," said Preziosi.

 

"Until the Valencia GP he will remain a competitor, one so great that he has always given a special value to our victories, but as soon as he rides the Ducati for the first time, we will work together on every single detail that will develop a bike capable of showing his huge talent.

 

"Working with Valentino is one of the most exciting things for every engineer and it's good to know we will have this great opportunity next season."

 

Nicky Hayden is expected to be retained as Rossi's team-mate, with Ducati's current lead rider Casey Stoner having already announced he will join Honda next year.

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