No more surgery for Stoner, Suppo says

From motogp.com

His Australian rider left frustrated by a lack of comfort in his left wrist at the recent Sepang test, Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo has dismissed any speculation that Casey Stoner will be undertaking any further operations on the troublesome appendage.

Speaking on Monday, Suppo based his opinion on fact, namely the information given to his charge by the surgeons who operated on Stoner’s scaphoid last November.

“Nobody has spoken about another operation," the Italian said. "The doctors said that the surgery went okay, so now it’s a question of doing exercises to increase mobility in his wrist. “Everything should be under control. In Sepang he was able to ride the bike, like the doctors said, and he was unbelievably fast.”

Weakness and pain under braking, in addition to a lack of endurance, were cited by Stoner as a cause for "disappointment" in Malaysia. Concern over his condition was tempered by his recording the fastest time of the test, smashing last year’s pole position lap. This provided convincing proof that the former World Champion is still up to the task of riding the Desmosedici GP9.

“He will have to work hard on his wrist. It won’t be easy for him, but he has the character to do it. We have to wait and see what happens in Qatar; hopefully the circuit is less physically demanding for the riders and better for him than Sepang,” emphasized Suppo, who also paid tribute to the work done by Stoner’s new teammate Nicky Hayden at the first test of 2009.
“Nicky wasn’t as fast as Casey in Sepang, but you have to remember that Casey joined us in 2006. Sepang is a special circuit, and Nicky was as fast as Casey in T1 and T2. I spoke to him after the test, and I really believe that he has a great attitude to us working together.”

Stoner and Hayden will be back in action at the Qatar night test in Losail, which begins Sunday.