Training injury forces Franco Morbidelli out of Dutch MotoGP

Franco Morbidelli will miss this weekend's Dutch MotoGP due to a left knee injury sustained in training.

The Petronas Yamaha rider is now 'undergoing medical assessment to determine the best course of action for recovery' but will not be on his M1 for the final event before the summer break.

Cal Crutchlow is the official Yamaha test and replacement rider, although it is not yet known if the Englishman will be called up for a MotoGP return.

It is assumed that Morbidelli's injury is a worsening of the ligament damage first highlighted when he fell to the ground in pain during a bike swap practice at Le Mans.

"I had a moment training at the ranch, I didn't crash, but I needed to put my leg on the ground and as you saw this morning my knee is weak. It started to give me pain from last week," Morbidelli explained at the time.

"So my knee is not really stable at the moment and when I went to swap bikes and I stomped on my left leg, the knee felt like it wanted to pop out. So I just let go and crashed onto the bike."

Morbidelli, title runner-up last season, has finished on the podium once so far this year with his 2019-A-Spec bike and sits eleventh in the world championship.