Aleix Espargaro prepares for last-minute surgery: ‘No strength, very strange’
The Aprilia race winner, who battled for the 2022 championship until the penultimate round, was sixth and top Aprilia by mid-afternoon but could only do short runs due to the ‘very strange’ inflammation issue.
“I cannot do many laps, unfortunately. I have no strength in my arm like yesterday,” he revealed. “So I just did a couple of short runs to try some geometry for the race.
“It was quite positive. I was quite fast, but still, I'm not riding good. I have no strength in the arm and I can do just 2-3 laps and then stop.
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“It looks like a fibrosis [thickening/scarring of the tissue],” he explained. “We did some [scans] here with the doctors and it looks like I have a big fibrosis that is pushing the muscle and this is why I have no power on the hand.”
The Spaniard might now need to undergo surgery as soon as possible, in order to be fit for the March 24-26 race weekend.
“It looks like they have to open, clean it and close it again,” he said. “It's not a dramatic surgery, but anyway tomorrow at 8:00am I will be in the Dexeus [hospital] to do more tests and see what we [decide to do].
“It's a little bit worrying for me because it's not really arm pump. I don't feel the arm super big, but even in the first lap I have no strength on the front brake… It’s like this arm was completely sleeping. So it's a bit frustrating.”
Team-mate Maverick Vinales is currently ninth quickest, with 1.5 hours of testing to go.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
