Lorenzo Finger Surgery A Success, But Will Miss Sepang And Valencia Uncertain

Jorge Lorenzo is to miss the next round of MotoGP, to recover from successful surgery to repair the finger which was damaged so badly during a warm up crash at Phillip Island. Lorenzo was thrown from his Factory Yamaha YZR-M1 on Sunday morning, and had the ring finger on his left hand trapped by the handlebars, which tore the top of his finger off. Lorenzo was forced to miss the race in Australia, and was flown straight to a hospital in Melbourne, where a three-and-a-half hour operation was performed to reattach the lost fingertip.

That surgery was a success, saving the tendons and nerves in his left ring finger, leaving him with a fully functional finger, but the recovery period from the complex surgery is long. As a result, Lorenzo will miss next weekend's race at Sepang, and could even be forced to skip the final round of MotoGP at Valencia.

Below is the official press release from Yamaha about the surgery:

Jorge Lorenzo Injury Update

Surgery to repair damage to Jorge Lorenzo's finger in Melbourne this evening has been successful. The surgeon was able to save the nerves and tendons of the injured fourth finger, as a result no functionality will be lost in either the finger or the hand. Unfortunately an extended recovery time will be required so Jorge will not race in Sepang for the Malaysian Grand Prix. A decision on the Valencia Grand Prix will be made dependent on Jorge's condition after his return to Barcelona. The official medical bulletin will be released tomorrow morning.