Hector Barbera (Reale Avintia Racing) suffered a broken collarbone after a crash during training at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on Wednesday, and the Spaniard travelled to the Hospital Universitari Dexeus in Barcelona to fix the injury. The surgery was undertaken by MotoGP™ medical director Dr Xavier Mir on Thursday, with a titanium plate fitted to help fix the break.
The fracture had occurred to the left collarbone, and the operation took an hour and a half – proving a slightly more complex procedure than could have been anticipated due to an old injury to the same collarbone.
Barbera’s participation in the Qatar test is now in doubt, but the team expect the Spaniard to have no problem lining up to contest the first race of the season at the same Losail International Circuit at the end of March.