Crutchlow recovering after surgery

From Yamaha Racing

Yamaha MotoGP World Championship racer Cal Crutchlow has undergone successful surgery on the broken left collarbone he suffered during last weekend's British Grand Prix.

The 25-year-old had a titanium plate and several screws inserted in the shoulder in an operation carried out by specialist surgeon Doctor David Clark at the Royal Derby Hospital. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider broke his left collarbone in five places in a high-speed accident during qualifying for his home race at the Silverstone circuit.

Surgery on the damaged collarbone was delayed while Crutchlow was assessed for a neck injury suffered in the crash. Initial checks at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford showed a suspected non-displacement fract ure of his C2 vertebrae. But CAT scans showed no damage to his neck, and he was immediately transferred to the Royal Derby Hospital for surgery on his left collarbone.

Crutchlow has already started the recovery process with intensive physiotherapy, but it is too early to know whether the 2009 World Supersport Champion will be fit to participate in the Dutch Grand Prix at the historic Assen circuit next weekend.

"The operation on my collarbone was a success and the doctors seems really happy with the outcome," Crutchlow said. "But I am still in a lot of pain. Unfortunately, the break is a lot worse than the one my team-mate Colin Edwards had in Catalunya and I've got different pain and movement levels. And I've spent two days lying on my back with a suspected neck injury, so my shoulder just got swollen.

"I am not very happy that this happened to me in my home race at Silverstone when things were going really well for the weekend. I don't know if I will ride in Assen. We will have to wait and see, but I'll be trying 100 per cent to be there if I can.”