The Movistar Yamaha team have today confirmed that Valentino Rossi is to miss the Misano round of MotoGP. The injury the Italian sustained in a training accident last week is sufficiently severe that he will not be fit for his home round.
Yamaha had widely been expected to withdraw Rossi from Misano, given the fact that he had broken both the tibia and fibula of his right leg, and only had surgery to pin the bones in the early hours of Friday morning.
The last time Rossi broke his leg, it was 40 days before he returned, making Motegi the earliest Rossi is likely to return.
It is also no surprise that Yamaha has opted not to field a replacement for Rossi, as I predicted yesterday. It would not be a popular move with the fans, and it would be hard to find a rider available, willing, and able to fill in for Rossi at such short notice.
If Rossi also misses Aragon, in just under three weeks’ time, Yamaha will have to field a replacement.
Though the Yamaha press release makes no mention of either how long they expect Rossi to be out, nor who would replace him, the most likely option is for Rossi to miss Aragon, and for test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga to take his place there.
Source: Movistar Yamaha; Photo: © 2016 Tony Goldsmith / www.tonygoldsmith.net – All Rights Reserved
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
