MotoGP Barcelona: Alex Rins undergoes successful surgery on broken arm

Alex Rins has undergone successful surgery following his cycling accident at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Thursday morning.

The Suzuki rider was training at the circuit ahead of this weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix when he fell from his push bike. As a result, Rins broke the radius bone in his right arm, specifically a “Trans-styloid Intrarticular Fracture of the Distal Radius,” and suffered severe bruising to his wrist.

Related: MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix updates

Rins was taken to the Dexeus University hospital in Barcelona and was operated on by Dr. Xavier Mir, Head of the Hand, Elbow and Microsurgery Surgery Unit, on Friday morning.

“The operation went well, and I am already thinking about my recovery and returning to 100% as soon as possible,” Rins said. “This whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth, and I apologise to the team for not being able to compete as we would have liked this weekend. Last year here we had a great result with both bikes on the podium and it is a pity that we cannot go for that again this year.

“Today’s operation hopefully means the shortest possible recovery time, and that’s why we made the decision to have the surgery. I’ll do my best to be back for the German Grand Prix. Thank you to everyone for the messages of support.”

The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for Rins. The Spaniard has crashed out of the last four races, crashing twice in the wet at Le Mans, and already finds himself 82 points behind championship leader Fabio Quartararo.

Fortunately for Rins, Dr. Mir has hinted that a return to action at the German GP in two weeks’ time is beyond the realms of possibility.

“Today Alex Rins underwent a minimally invasive fixation with compression cannulated screws,” Mir added. “If there are no complications, I think he will be able to start functional recovery next Monday, and we do not rule out the possibility that he could compete within two weeks in Sachsenring.”

Rins will not be replaced for the Catalan race, however Sylvain Guintoli will step in for the test on Monday. Further updates on Rins’ condition will be released by Suzuki as and when they are available.

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MotoGP Barcelona: Alex Rins ruled out of home GP following cycling accident

First published: 3 June 2021 by Josh Close

Alex Rins will miss this week’s Catalan Grand Prix after breaking the radius bone in his right arm in a cycling accident.

The Suzuki rider was training on his push bike at the Barcelona circuit on Thursday morning when he fell and broke his arm. Rins was taken to the Universitari Dexeus Hospital in Barcelona, where he was declared unfit to ride.

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Rins’ fracture was immobilised, and he will now undergo surgery tomorrow morning (June 4). The incident follows a terrible run of form from the Spaniard, who has crashed out of the last four races.

Today’s injury puts another huge dent in Rins’ already fading title aspirations. Rins currently sits 82 points behind championship leader Fabio Quartararo after six rounds.

“Alex Rins has been ruled out of his home GP after a cycling accident,” Suzuki’s statement read. “The Team Suzuki Ecstar rider will unfortunately have to sit out the Grand Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya due to an unfortunate accident he suffered while training this morning with his bicycle on track.

“The Spaniard fell during a training lap and as a result he suffered damage to his right arm, with a large, contused area and a lot of pain. He was quickly taken to Barcelona’s Universitari Dexeus Hospital for further examination and medical checks revealed a fracture in the radius bone.

“The fracture was immobilised and tomorrow morning he will undergo surgery to fix it. More information to be given in future updates.”

As things stand it’s unclear whether Rins will be replaced this weekend. Test rider Sylvain Guintoli is in Barcelona, working as a pundit for BT Sport. Given that there’s also a test at the circuit on Monday it’s likely that, if Suzuki wish to replace Rins, Guintoli will line-up on the grid on Sunday afternoon.

Rins won’t have much time to recover if he’s hoping to only miss one race weekend. The German GP takes place on June 20 and will be followed one week later by the Dutch TT at Assen. Austria then hosts back-to-back rounds on August 8 and 15 respectively.