Valentino Rossi undergoing surgery after breaking leg

Valentino Rossi has broken his tibia and fibula after crashing an enduro bike. The tib-fib are the two primary bones of the lower leg, Rossi has suffered a displaced fracture, which means the bones are separated and not in their correct positions, and will most likely require plating.

Generic Tib-Fib Diagram. Valentino Rossi has broken both his tibia and fibula. Rossi has suffered a displaced fracture, which means the bones are separated and not in their correct positions, and will most likely require plating.

The 38-year-old was rushed to the Emergency Healthcare Department of the Urbino Hospital, before being transfered to Rimini for an operation.

The injury almost certainly means that Rossi will miss the next round at Misano, and also effectively ends his tilt at taking the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.

If the displacement is quite serious, the nine-time Champion may even consider ending his season rather than rush back from injury. And instead concentrate on looking after the injury and ensuring his preparations for season 2018 are in their best possible shape.

The minimum period for weight bearing on such an injury is likely to be 2-3 weeks. Rossi could, perhaps, come back and score reasonable points in the latter rounds of the season.

However, due to the closeness and intensity of the competition this season, it is unlikely Rossi will be able to challenge for podiums for the next 4-6 weeks at least. By that time MotoGP will only have a couple of rounds remaining.

Thus the question must be asked, why bother coming back this season at all…?

And if that is indeed the decision taken, who would be promoted into the Movistar Yamaha squad in the interim to replace him? The smart money would be on Johann Zarco, with his Tech3 seat then up for grabs…

Update – The following statement was released by Yamaha:

“Following an enduro training accident on Thursday, August 31st, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP star Valentino Rossi has been diagnosed with displaced fractures of the tibia and fibula of his right leg. The 38-year-old Italian rider will undergo surgery as soon as possible. We wish Valentino a speedy recovery!”