Rossi in high spirits after operation

Valentino Rossi displayed some of his characteristic humour as he spoke from his hospital bed at the Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico (Centre for Orthopaedic Trauma) in Florence, Italy on Sunday.

The World Champion, who had an operation to repair his fractured right tibia on Saturday, was interviewed by journalist Guido Meda from Mediaset just before Sunday’s Gran Premio d’Italia TIM at Mugello, the first race he has missed since making his 125cc World Championship debut in 1996.

Rossi’s initial words were ones of thanks to Doctor Buzzi at the CTO, the man who performed his successful operation, and the nine-time World Champion also explained how touched he was by the range of tributes from his fellow riders on Sunday which included a message from Fiat Yamaha team-mate and rival Jorge Lorenzo calling him a ‘legend’.

“I want to thank everyone at Mugello and also all the riders who have wished me well: it’s always a great feeling,” said Rossi. “The operation went well, Doctor Buzzi has been exceptional and they are treating me like I’m part of the family here. I have had a pin inserted into my leg and tomorrow they will close and stitch the wound, then we will wait and begin a good rehabilitation programme.”

Rossi recounted the crash in the practice session which threw him from his bike. “They were difficult moments because it was a bad crash and a bad injury. I’ve watched the accident again and to see how my ankle looked was not a good feeling. There were a few moments of fear, but now I’m doing well,” he stated.

“Now I can say my morale is reasonably high because I’ve discovered I have a great rapport with morphine!” he joked, before going on to show that he was well and truly on the road to recovery with another comment about the race, which Dani Pedrosa won shortly after the interview. “I hope nobody wins!”

Rossi now wants to ensure that he takes enough time to fully recover, and added: “It will take some time, but the important thing is that I’ll return at 100%.”