MotoGP: ‘Tough winter is coming’ - more surgery for Takaaki Nakagami
Nakagami tangled with Marquez on the openin🦹g lap as the Repsol Honda rider battled to control bike damage sustained when he was hit from behind by Fabio Quartararo.
Tendon injuries to Nakagami’s fourth and fifth fingers required ꦫsurgery in Bar🍸celona, 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 inꦬ the race before undergoing more scans and a second round of surgery in Japan.
That ruled Nakagami out of the next three events before a return at the Va🌞lencia season finale, where he claimed 14th place followed by 19th in the post-ra♏ce test.
But his injury ordeal still wasn’t over with the 30-year-old, paired alongside new team-mate Alex Rins for 2023, rev🌃ealing he has now undergone a third oper🍰ation:
“The surgery went well, just fixed t♔endon of the extensor digiti minimi. Tough wintꦏer is coming."
Nakagami, w🐈ho pulled out of the 2019 season to undergo a lengthy operation to fix ‘severe cartilage damage’ in his right shoulder, now has until the official Sepang test ཧin February to recover.
2023 will be Nakagami's sixth season in the premier-class, ꧙all spent at LCR Honda. The double Moto2 race winner, still seeking a debut MotoGP podium, had a best finish of seventh this season.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come andꦆ go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s i🅠njury issues.
