Gibernau to miss race and have surgery on Monday

Sete Gibernau has fractured his left collarbone in a nasty Saturday morning highside, ruling him out of any further participation in the Grand Prix de France - as he has had to fly back to Barcelona for surgery.

The Spaniard fell heavily on his left shoulder in the FP2 crash, reinjuring himself after a preseason plagued with collarbone problems on the same side. It is the third time that he has incurred a clavicle fracture in a fall.

Team manager Pablo Nieto commented, “It is a real shame and it is very bad luck because Sete was already coming back from a shoulder injury and had been improving steadily.”

“Obviously what we do next will all hinge on how much time he needs to recover which could be longer than for a young rider. It is really tough for the whole team to accept, including for Sete himself of course, because we are all giving so much effort to this project.”

After his quick return to Barcelona Gibernau was examined by Doctors Xavier Mir and Nacho Ginebreda at the Clínica Dexeus, with Dr Mir commenting, “We have undertaken various scans and they confirm just one new fracture on the left collarbone which has nothing to do with previous injuries in this area. The rider also took a slight knock to his spine and another on his right heel but they are not serious injuries.”

It is expected that Gibernau will have surgery on Monday to insert a titanium plate into his left shoulder supporting the collarbone.