MotoGP: ‘Tough winter is coming’ - more surgery for Takaaki Nakagami
Nakagami tangled with Marquez on the opening lap as the Repsol Honda rider battled to co𒉰ntrol bike damage sustained when he was hit from behind by Fabio Q⭕uartararo.
Tendon injuries to Nakagami’s fourth and fifth fingers required surge🦩ry in Barcelona, but the LCR Honda rider was 🍬still on track a few days later for Friday practice at his home Japanese Grand Prix.
Nakagami soldered on for 20th and last in ꦐthe race before undergoing more scans and a second round of surgery in Japan.
That rulꦅed Nakagami out of the next three events ღbefore a return at the Valencia season finale, where he claimed 14th place followed by 19th in the post-race test.
𝐆But his injury ordeal still wasn’t over with the 30-year-old, paired alongside new team-mate Alex Rins for 2023, revealing he has now undergone a third operation:
“The surg🔯ery went well, just fixed tendon of the extensor digiti minimi. Tough winter is coming."
Nakagami, who pulled out of the 2019 season to undergꦏo a lengthy operation to fix ‘severe cartilage damage’ in his right shoulder, now has until the official Sepang test in February to recover.
2023 will be Nakagami's sixth season in the premier-class, all spent at LCR Honda. The double Moto2 race winner, still sꦇeeking a debut MotoGP podium, had a best f▨inish of seventh this season.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc𝓰 Marquez’s injury issues.
