Colin Edwards won’t rush injury return

Colin Edwards has pledged not to rush back to MotoGP action from the broken left collarbone he suffered in Estoril earlier this month, but is still optimistic of a comeback in the forthcoming Catalunya clash in Spain.

The Texan will miss this weekend’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans after breaking his left collarbone in five places after a qualifying incident in Portugal involving Randy de Puniet.

Edwards was struck by de Puniet’s crashed Aspar Aprilia ART machine and fell heavily on his left shoulder, breaking the collarbone for the fourth time.

It was almost a year ago that the double World Superbike champion broke his right collarbone in a practice crash at the Catalunya track near Barcelona.

Edwards then courageously raced to a podium just nine days later during a rain-lashed British Grand Prix at Silverstone, but a repeat of those heroics were impossible.

Edwards, who needed a plate and 10 screws to stabilise the broken left collarbone from Estoril, told MCN: “I need to give it more time to heal and the doctors basically said not to do anything for at least a week.

“The bone isn’t going to move but the bone is so fragile that I didn’t want to screw up any of the metalwork in there. Last year my goal was to be back so quick because I’d never missed a race in my MotoGP career.

“I wanted to keep that record and that finished and this year we’re having some issues with the bike, so the main goal is to get healthy and comeback ready to fight.”

Frustrated not to be racing in Le Mans this weekend, there was some relief for Edwards as he works his way to a return in Catalunya on June 3.

Doctors who carried out the surgery on him at the Dexeus Institut in Barcelona confirmed he had not aggravated any of the left shoulder injuries suffered in the tragic accident that claimed the life of Italian star Marco Simoncelli in Sepang last October.

Edwards dislocated his left shoulder and suffered numerous fractures to the top of his humerus bone in the Malaysia incident but he added: “I was worried that I might have damaged some of the repair job they did after Sepang but all that is cool. The shoulder joint is fine.”

His Suter-BMW machine will be ridden by 2007 Le Mans winner and former factory Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen in France this weekend.