Laverty undergoes surgery, hopeful of ‘100 per cent’ recovery

Eugene Laverty says he is optimistic to make a 100 per cent recovery from the double wrist injury that forced him out of the latest World Superbike Championship round at Imola.

The Irishman fractured both wrists as he came down from a high-side on the exit of Acqua Minerale during first free practice for round five of the season. It was later confirmed the crash was caused by traction control issues on his Go Eleven Ducati.

Flown to Barcelona to undergo treatment with the help of Dr. Xavier Mir, a specialist in hand and wrist injuries often used by riders, Laverty has gone under the knife to correct his right wrist with another surgery on his left wrist to come.

“We’re in Barcelona hospital for my second surgery,” he said speaking in a video posted to Twitter from his hospital bed. “I had an operation on my right wrist on Saturday, the one I was most worried about – there were seven fractures inside, three pretty big one!

“Dr Mir has come to my rescue and done a hell of a job, so I am more relaxed about that and I am sure it is going to be OK.”

“Now I have to think about this one [left wrist], that will be the second surgery and there is going to be three procedures on this one. We couldn’t do them both together because it would have been something like a six-hour operation, which I don’t think the body can accept!

“Not ideal but I am hopeful of a 100 per cent recovery, just these things happen, unfortunately in the last couple of years they have happened to me.

“This time it was a simple problem, a traction control failure in FP1 and these bikes don’t cope too well without TC and next thing I knew I was in the sky. But we have a great bike and a great team and I want to get back to be chasing podiums.

The latest injury setback for Laverty – whose best finishes on the privateer Ducati Panigale V4 R this season have been a pair of sixth places at Aragon – he was replaced last minute by Tommy Bridewell in Imola, who impressed with a points-scoring run to 12thin race one.

Get well soon @eugenelaverty! https://t.co/gu4SzayM0J

— Crash.Net (@CRASH_NET) May 14, 2019