Le Mans MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa expects tough weekend

Dani Pedrosa has conceded he faces another physically gruelling weekend in Le Mans as he battles back to full fitness after recent surgery on his right shoulder. Pedrosa produced a startling display to win the recent Portuguese MotoGP race just after he’d undergone surgery to remove a titanium plate and screws from his left shoulder.

The plate had caused the Spaniard a major numbness issue in the first two races in Qatar and Jerez.

First inserted after he suffered a badly broken collarbone in a high-speed crash during practice for last October’s Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi, Pedrosa discovered the plate was compressing an artery in his left shoulder in the early part of the 2011 world championship campaign.

That problem led to the numbness issue and he said in France earlier today that he was still well short of 100 per cent fitness as he chases a 14th premier class success.
After his race-winning exploits in Estoril, the Repsol Honda rider could only complete a handful of laps during a one-day test in Portugal as pain and fatigue set in.

And Pedrosa, who goes into this weekend’s race in France trailing reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo by just four-points, said: “After the last race I tried to do the test but I wasn’t able to do some laps. I had to quit and it has been a hard week.”

“Until Sunday I was really sore and I almost couldn’t move my arm so much. Since then I’ve done some treatment and hopefully I’ll have a better feeling here. I had a constant spasm and the muscle didn’t really relax. I just hope I can do a good job here. I’ll be riding with still some pain in the muscles around the shoulder but I think there is nothing unusual. With the surgery, the stress of the rehab and the Estoril race, it is something normal.”