“It's time to get this thing fixed”World Champion Nicky Hayden will sit out this week's MotoGP test at Jerez on November 28- 30 in order to receive medical treatment to his injured right shoulder.
The Repsol Honda rider will have further MRI and CT scans on November
29 at the Freemont Clinic in California, prior to an operation scheduled for the following day.
The surgery will repair an undisplaced fracture through the right greater tuberosity (shoulder bone). At the same time the metal plate on the 25-year-old American's right collarbone will be removed.
The metal plate, a legacy of a Supermoto crash in 2004, was bent in the fall at this year's Grand Prix of Portugal and, combined with the shoulder fracture, has caused Hayden considerable discomfort ever since.
Hayden made light of the injury following the accident at Estoril, not wanting to offer championship rival Valentino Rossi the slightest psychological boost going into the MotoGP title showdown at Valencia.
With the championship in the bag and the winter break approaching the decision has been made to complete the surgery in order to give the World Champion the maximum time for recovery before the 2007 testing programme begins at the end of January.
Hayden's Repsol Honda team-mate, Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, will attend the three-day Jerez test to continue the development of the prototype RC212V.
Speaking from his home in Owensboro, Kentucky, Nicky Hayden said:
"The shoulder's been pretty uncomfortable since Estoril and the testing since the last race hasn't made things any better – it actually hasn't been much fun to ride under these circumstances. I'd love to be at the Jerez test and it's going to be hard to be laid up at home. But it's time to get this thing fixed so that I can come back fully fit for the tests in January and February and be ready for the 2007 season.”
Repsol Honda
