Valentino Rossi has had surgery after snapping his shin bone in a crash during practice Saturday on the Mugello track ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, and he could be out for the rest of the year. Reports said that the nine-time world champion lost control of his Yamaha while changing direction between two curves at turn 13 on his second practice run. He was flipped in the air at 180 kph (111 mph) and landed hard on his right leg. “The operation on Valentino Rossi is over and everything went OK,” said Dr. Claudio Costa, head of the Mugello medical facility where the rider was first treated. “The fracture was repaired without any complications and Valentino is already awake and smiling,” Dr. Costa told Sky Sports Italia. Rossi was in surgery for nearly two and a half hours and is likely to stay in hospital for a week. His girlfriend Marwa Klebi is with him. “The surgeon Dr. Roberto Buzzi has talked of four, five maybe six months recovery,” Dr. Costa said. “But as ever the diagnosis after the first few days is always important.” Dr. Buzzi later reportedly said it was the worst type of injury he has operated on and expressed doubt that Rossi would return to racing in 2010. Rossi, who is second in the MotoGP riders' standings, waved as he was moved on to a stretcher before being taken to the track's medical center for an x-ray that confirmed he had a displaced and exposed fracture of his right tibia. Later he was flown to Florence's Careggi medical center by helicopter and said “Ciao” when he was taken out of the ambulance. He was then taken to the hospital's orthopaedic trauma center for the operation. Dani Pedrosa, meanwhile, stole pole position for the race with fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo down to second. Ducati's Casey Stoner qualified third. Rossi has a “very ugly fracture, with the bone exposed,” Dr. Costa said at the time. Dr Claudio Macchiagodena, the MotoGP medical director, told the competition's website: “It's an injury more serious than we thought, because it's an exposed fracture with the bone protruding from the skin. We have reduced the fracture, which fortunately has not affected any blood vessels or nerves. “It is serious, it could be a couple of months, but it is too early to say just yet,” Macchiagodena said. It will be the first time that Rossi has not competed in his home Grand Prix, a race he has won nine times. It also ends his record run of 230 successive MotoGP races since his debut in the 125cc class at the 1996 Malaysian Grand Prix.
