According to a press release received from Honda, Dani Pedrosa underwent an examination of his shoulder shortly after the Qatar Grand Prix last weekend, and doctors saw evidence of “a small stretch in the plexus”. The press release indicates the injury will need more time to heal completely, but fails to give any indication of how quickly that will occur. The next race is in Jerez two weeks from now.

According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, Brachial plexus injuries (which is the type of injury Pedrosa is suffering from) are common traumatic injuries suffered by motorcyclists. The severity of the injury, and the symptoms, can vary widely, but given the fact that Pedrosa is still feeling severe weakness in his left arm during race conditions so long after his Motegi crash in early October of last year, it is possible  his symptoms will recur in future races.  This is something Pedrosa has acknowledged, and there appears to be no other approach other than “wait and see”. 

Here is the press release from Honda:

Dani Pedrosa underwent further medical checks after returning from Doha to seek an answer to the discomfort that returned to his left arm during the Grand Prix of Qatar last weekend. The Repsol Honda Team rider, who despite the pain managed to take a third place finish at Losail, suffered from numbness and lack of strengh in his left arm during the race and suspected that the injury he suffered in Japan last October had not completely disappeared, which prompted him to re-visit specialists.

Dani passed several tests, consisting in a three-dimensional CAT scan with contrast and MRI. The results showed that there is no vascular or nerve compression in the canal of the collarbone, but there is a small stretch in the plexus, which is gradually improving but will need more time to finish healing completely.

DANI PEDROSA
“I honestly didn’t expect my arm would react in this way because during pre-season I didn’t feel too much trouble and I thought the problem was solved. However, I felt really bad in the Qatar race and was aware that the injury is not completely healed. It was a shame because in Qatar I had a good feeling and until the second half of the race – which is when the pain started – I was really strong and I saw a realistic chance of winning. I would be lying if I said I’m not disappointed because this year the bike is working very well and physically I feel good, but unfortunately this complication has arisen and I have nothing else to do but give my best until the injury heals completely”.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.