Nicky Hayden suffered yet another setback to his 2012 MotoGP campaign when it was determined that more surgery would be required on his left shoulder that was injured in a preseason flat-track training crash in December. Hayden was able to participate in the first Sepang preseason tests last week, but the American wasn’t anywhere near 100% capability, with a lack of shoulder strength and pain forcing him to back off the pace—in turn limiting his ability to fully test the new works GP12 Ducati. The pain and lack of strength in his shoulder convinced Hayden to head over to Dr. Arthur Ting’s clinic in Fremont, California, to have his shoulder examined again, where it was discovered that Hayden had also suffered cartilage and muscle damage to the area as well.
“A little bit of everything,” lamented Hayden about the continuing shoulder issues that compromised his Sepang test. “You know, braking wasn’t too bad for me this way when I could lock my arm, but it was more coming out of the corners when I would have an unexpected jerk and the bike would shake its head—I didn’t have the strength to hold on. And also in the right hand corners I couldn’t hang off the bike and hold on, so those were my main problems. Actually my wrist was fine, probably better than even I expected. I mean it was no problem at all and the ribs were basically zero problems, so some positives.”
Hayden is scheduled to undergo surgery today to determine the full extent of his injuries—he declined having exploratory surgery back in December to avoid an extended layoff due to the issues involved with any shoulder operation—as well as treat those injuries if necessary. “I’m actually happy that I tried to ride at Malaysia, because it helped me to discover that the problem with the shoulder was bigger than we thought,” said Hayden. “After seeing the scans, it was clear why I couldn’t ride well.” Hayden and Ducati are being mum on how long the expected recovery period will be after this surgery, but it’s a fair bet that he will miss the next three-day Sepang test starting on February 28. UPDATE: Ducati Corse issued a press release on February 8 stating that Hayden underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair "a tear in the labrum." The labrum forms what looks like a "cuff" of cartilage that makes up a good portion of the shoulder socket. The surgery performed by Dr. Arthur Ting took only 40 minutes, and because it was done by arthroscopic methods, it was much less invasive, thus the team stated that should Hayden's convalescence proceed as hoped, he should be able to ride at the second Sepang test scheduled for February 28 - March 1.
Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi underwent surgery this morning at Cattolica’s Cervesi hospital to remove the rod that was inserted in his right tibia following his practice crash at the 2010 Mugello GP. That surgery is usually much less invasive, and Rossi is expected to ready for the Sepang test at the end of this month.