Pedrosa fitness doubts linger after thigh fracture revelation

After his crash in Sunday’s race at the Gran Premio d’Italia Alice Dani Pedrosa was examined by specialists in his native Barcelona on Monday, with Doctor Xavier Mir confirming that the Repsol Honda rider has an incomplete fracture of the right greater trochanter of the femur.

Pedrosa started the Mugello race injured after a big rear wheel slide and subsequent shake from his bike in Saturday morning’s practice session, which caused severe stretching in his right hip.

The scans at the USP Institut Universitari Dexeus on Monday showed that the initial diagnosis at the circuit on Saturday had been correct and Pedrosa had pulled the gluteus medius muscle, which caused a small crack in the greater trochanter (thigh) bone where the muscle attaches. A statement also confirmed that he had not suffered any further injuries during his Sunday crash, even though he was stretchered away from the incident as a precautionary measure.

The 23 year-old will now have to rest up before the all important Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, his home GP, with his physical condition to be assessed next week to decide if he will be fit to compete. Pedrosa is also still recovering from knee and arm injuries sustained in a winter testing crash but those injuries were not exacerbated in Italy.

The rider himself said, “It’s a relief that the tests on Monday didn’t show up anything new because I think I have enough to contend with already. The injury from Saturday is still quite painful obviously but with luck it will improve over the next week.”

“The timing of this a real shame because I was feeling as though I was returning to something close to race fitness and could ride the bike as I wanted. Still, this is where we are so we’ll just get on with it and try to make a quick recovery. I really hope I can be fit for the next race because it’s a very important one for me and the team.”