Dani Pedrosa gets injury boost

Spaniard Dani Pedrosa was given a major boost today when medical checks in Barcelona revealed he’d not suffered any further injuries when crashing out of Sunday’s Italian MotoGP race in Mugello.

Pedrosa went into the 23-lap race nursing serious muscle damage in his right hip after a near high-side during practice on Saturday morning.

Further scans today at in hospital in Spain showed the initial diagnosis of his injuries had been correct, with the 23-year-old suffering a pulled gluteus medius muscle, which caused a small crack in the greater trochanter (thigh) bone where the muscle attaches.

It was feared the Repsol Honda rider might have aggravated the injury and suffered further damage when he high-sided his factory RC212V machine out of an exciting flag-to-flag race in Mugello.

But having been cleared of any further damage, Pedrosa will now take complete rest to try and be fit for his home race in Catalunya on June 14.

“It’s a relief that the tests didn’t show up anything new because I think I have enough to contend with already. The injury from Saturday is still quite painful obviously but with luck it will improve over the next week. The timing of this a real shame because I was feeling as though I was returning to something close to race fitness and could ride the bike as I wanted, “said Pedrosa.

He added: “Still, this is where we are so we’ll just get on with it and try to make a quick recovery. I really hope I can be fit for the next race because it’s a very important one for me and the team.”

Pedrosa’s crash in Mugello dealt his world title hopes a massive blow, with the triple world champion now 33-points adrift of series leader Casey Stoner, who gave Ducati its first win in Mugello on Sunday.