Dani Pedrosa Will Undergo Surgery after Jerez

It’s a tough day for Spanish MotoGP fans as Dani Pedrosa has confirmed that he will be going back in for surgery on his shoulder after the Spanish GP at Jerez. Pedrosa’s injuries were diagnosed today as stemming from an intermittent compression of the subclavian artery, which in-turn was causing his lack of strength and numbness in his left arm.

After this weekend’s race, Pedrosa will go in for his surgery where the titanium plate and screws will be removed from his shoulder in order to relieve the compression pressure. Luckily for Pedrosa and Repsol Honda, the rescheduling of the Japanese GP at Motegi to later in the year will give Dani almost a month of recuperation time following his surgery.

This injury is a remnant of Pedrosa’s crash at the Japan GP in October of last year, but presented itself at the season-opener at Qatar just two weeks ago. At that time, Pedrosa said he was unaware of the condition because of the relatively short stints he was doing on the bike during testing at Sepang and Qatar, although he admitted to experiencing a slight twinge leading up to the Qatar GP, but thought nothing of it.

“It’s never nice to have an operation, but we’ve had a lot of time searching for an answer to the effects of this injury and I’m relaxed because I finally know what has happened,” said Pedrosa. “Now, we are in Jerez and I want to concentrate on the race, working with my team in best possible way to prepare the Grand Prix.”

“This race is special, the crowd is always there to give you an extra point and I hope it helps me, as always,” he continued. “I like the track, I’ve had always good results here and I face the weekend with an open mind, trying to do my best in my current condition.”

Pedrosa is considered one of the few people that could stand in the way of Casey Stoner’s pre-season nod as the Championship favorite. Clearly capable of keeping up with Stoner during the practice and qualifying sessions at Qatar, Pedrosa’s shoulder prevented him from going the distance with his teammate to the race’s end. Jerez will be another trying venue for the Spaniard, but he could be nearly 100% in-time for the Portuguese GP. As such, counting him out of a MotoGP Championship bid would seem unwise at this juncture.