Arm surgery for Crutchlow

Cal Crutchlow has revealed, in gory detail, a recent arm pump operation ahead of this weekend's Misano MotoGP round.

The pictures on the LCR Honda rider's Instagram, which come with the warning 'This photo may contain graphic or violent content', show surgeon's operating on the Englishman's forearm.

"A week in pictures… See how it goes this weekend shall we @lcr.team !!!" Crutchlow wrote.

Those wishing to see the photos should head over to Crutchlow's official Instagram page. Just don't do it at lunchtime...

It's the second time this season that Crutchlow has undergone surgery, having fractured the scaphoid bone in his left wrist during warm-up for the Jerez season-opener.

Returning the following weekend, at the second Jerez event, Crutchlow then suffered unexpected arm pump problems in his right arm, as it compensated for the weakened left wrist.

"I had arm pump from lap 5 until I finished the race," Crutchlow explained after the race.

"Over the weekend I'd noticed it a little bit as well, I'm not using my left arm at all. It's not even tired, not sore. But my other arm is obviously compensating and I'm probably riding 95% with my right arm.

"The problem was arm pump in my right forearm. And it was too hard to control the bike."

The Englishman pitted during the race and was close to retiring, before returning to the track to finish a lap down in 13th place, a position he is yet to beat in the three races since.

Although he hadn't mentioned any major arm pump problems since Jerez, Crutchlow has decided to use the two-weekend break between Austria and Misano (the longest in-season break of the revised calendar) to try and cure the issue.

It's not the first time he's had the operation, undergoing surgery on both arms at the same time in 2014.