MotoGP Jerez Test: Casey Stoner flies home to Australia for shoulder scans

MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner will fly home to Australia from Heathrow tonight to get further medical checks on the left shoulder injury he suffered in a massive high-side crash in Jerez yesterday.

The Aussie landed heavily on his left shoulder yesterday afternoon when he was flicked off the new 2008 factory Ducati exiting Turn Three.

Although checks at the Jerez medical centre revealed no broken bones, Casey Stoner has suffered ligament damage, and will fly home to Australia for further scans.

It means he will miss Ducati’s big world championship celebrations in Bologna this weekend, where the Italian factory was to host a party for staff and fans to mark its first ever premier class success in 2007.

The celebrations will go ahead as planned and Casey Stoner said: “It’s never much fun when you get injured, but I’d rather it happened when you’ve got a couple of months ahead of you to recover.

“I’m sorry to disappoint all the Ducati fans who have given me their support during the season and who had hoped to see me in Bologna on Sunday, but I am sure they would prefer to see me in perfect form again for the first tests on the Desmosedici next season.

“I’m sure it’ll be a great event for everyone at Ducati, they deserve it. We achieved our aim together and I am so sorry that we can’t celebrate it together.

“Unfortunately things are much worse than I thought yesterday after the crash, and this morning we decided that the best thing to do was to go back to Australia as soon as possible for further checks with the doctor who operated my right shoulder a couple of years ago. I’m sure he’ll get me back in shape again this time”.

Casey Stoner’s next track appearance will be on January 22, 2008 at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.