Alex Rins will miss the MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix having been faced with yet another setback with the recovery of the broken left leg he suffered at Mugello in June.
The LCR Honda rider spent nearly four months in rehab trying to recover from the injury he sustained as a result of a crash in the Italian GP sprint race, the Spaniard returning to action in practice at Motegi at the start of October.
Having been forced out of action in Japan due to pain from his leg, he made a full comeback for the Indonesian GP – in which he finished an impressive ninth. He then had to pull out of last weekend’s Australian GP after suffering pain once again in the healing leg.
After tests in Australia failed to show what was causing his latest bout of discomfort, Rins headed to Madrid for further examination of the appendage. It was subsequently found that a hernia had developed on his healing fibula.
Further surgery will now be undertaken to remedy the problem so that he can try and make his return for the final three races of the 2023 campaign. LCR won’t replace Rins for this weekend’s Thai GP due to the short turnaround time.
“Happy after our doctor’s appointment today , the injury keeps a positive evolution,” said Rins on social media after the source of his recent leg pain was found.
“We’ve identified the cause of the pain and we’ll undergo a small surgery to ease it. We won’t be at the Thai GP but we keep working towards a full recovery.”
Rins’ absence from Thailand means Honda will have just three bikes on track at the Chang International Circuit. Marc Marquez and Joan Mir will be in action for the factory Repsol Honda outfit, while Takaaki Nakagami will fly LCR’s flag on the sole remaining RC213V run the by Italian team.
