MotoGP: Rossi explains enduro crash

Valentino Rossi’s hopes of returning to MotoGP action only three weeks after undergoing surgery to have his broken leg pinned has been quashed, after he conceded that he would be forced to miss not only last weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix but also Motorland Aragon in ten days’ time.

Speaking from the sidelines during the weekend’s Misano race, only 20km from his home, he admitted that he was able to rely on experience this time round to gauge his progress, after suffering a similar injury back in 2010.

“I learned from the other time that in this phase of the recovery, you have to live day by day. It depends very much on how the leg feels, how much pain there is. We’re already working and we’re trying to come back as soon as possible though. The next race after Misano is Aragon, but I think it would have been very hard to be back for there because it’s 22 days after the injury – just three weeks.

“We need like double that time, or even 40 days. Last time I came back after 40 days. But this time the fracture is better, much less painful, but it is very early to say. If I’m not ready in Aragon, I’ll be back in in Motegi. The leg is painful but in general I feel good, and the mental pain is a lot worse. It was a great, great shame throwing away all the chances for the championship and the chance to race in front of all my home fans in Misano.”

The Italian also revealed for the first time how the crash happened, adamant that despite the severity of the break just below the knee of his right leg that it wasn’t done while riding hard or racing, but simply during a day out with mates.

“Unfortunately, I was with all my friends on an enduro bike, making a tour around the centre hills behind Urbino in the countryside. It’s a thing that I’ve done since I was 18 together with my father for a long, long time. Very close to the end, in one downhill section at very low speed, I lost the steering, and to not crash I put my foot on the ground. But it was a bit downhill, and all the weight of the bike went on my leg and it broke.”