Rossi facing long absence

Valentino Rossi underwent successful surgery on his broken leg in Florence but could be sidelined for "four to five months", meaning his hopes of claiming a seventh MotoGP world title are all but over.

The Fiat Yamaha rider, who sits second in the riders' standings ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, crashed heavily at turn 13 with 15 minutes remaining of the practice session.

He suffered a fractured shin and underwent a two-and-a-half-hour operation, performed by professor Roberto Buzzi, in Florence."

Early indications were that 31-year-old Rossi could be out of action until September, which would see him miss eight races, although a later prognosis suggested the recovery period could be even longer.

Buzzi said: "The operation was a perfect success. It took place under local anaesthetic."

"A linchpin with four screws was applied to Valentino and the recovery time could be around four to five months, but everything is still to be seen."

In a post-operation statement, Buzzi explained: "We received Valentino Rossi at the Careggi Hospital, where we made detailed checks in order to rule out any other injuries, and the results were satisfactory."

"We therefore decided to proceed with the surgery for the exposed fracture of the right leg."

"We performed a spinal block (epidural) and cleaned and washed the fracture, which was then aligned and stabilised with a pin."

"The surgery had good results, the alignment was good and the bone is now stable."

"The wound remains open, as is usual in these cases, and it will be stitched in the next few days with another short surgery."

"We are confident that Valentino will be able to leave the hospital in a week to 10 days, able to put weight on the leg with the aid of crutches."

"It is difficult to say how long the post-surgery rehabilitation will take. We need to evaluate the progress of the patient and also what the X-rays will show."

"But I think that we can reasonably think of six weeks of partial weight-bearing with crutches, after which Valentino needs to be re-evaluated, according to his feedback and further X-rays."

Claudio Costa of Clinica Mobile, MotoGP's travelling medical facility, earlier told of the moment he learned the injury was a "very serious'' one.

"It's a more serious fracture than we expected,'' said Costa, who assisted Buzzi with the surgery."

"It's a compound fracture which involves both the tibia and the fibula."

"It will be at least two or three months for him to recover. It's not the usual break of the bone, it's very serious.''

Rossi was eyeing a 10th career victory at his home circuit this weekend and seeking to end the strong sequence of performances by team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who has won the last two races to move nine points clear at the top of the standings.