Aleix Espargaro to undergo surgery after vertebral injury

Honda MotoGP test rider Aleix Espargaro will undergo surgical intervention on Wednesday in Barcelona following a vertebral injury.

Espargaro fractured his T3 and T4 vertebrae last week on Tuesday, in a heavy crash on the first day of what was meant to be a three-day test in Malaysia to develop Honda’s RC213V.

“This time it has been brutal… But we will have to fight and be positive as always to recover fully, and even more so with such a top travel companion by my side! Thanks to everyone for the messages of encouragement!”, the Spaniard wrote on his social media along with a photo next to his wife and mother of his two children, Laura Montero, who travelled to Malaysia following his accident.

Espargaro was admitted to Aurelius University Hospital in Nilai, just 13km away from the circuit, until Sunday.

After flying back to Barcelona, the Honda rider was admitted to Dexeus-Quiron University Hospital, where multiple examinations have been carried out, ultimately determining that surgery was the best course of action.

On Wednesday, Dr. Bartolome Fiol Busquets, a neurosurgeon specialized in cervical and lumbar spine surgery at Dexeus-Quiron, will lead the operation on Espargaro’s T3 and T4 vertebrae, as well as two others which initially appeared to be fractured too but turned out to be damaged, not broken.

“During the test in Sepang I suffered a heavy accident. As a result, I had several contusions and four broken vertebrae, although by a very small margin, and fortunately they did not affect the spinal cord,” Aleix explained on his Instagram last week.

“After a few days at CU Aurelius Hospital, where I have been treated incredibly well, I can now fly home with Laura, who came to the rescue from the other side of the world (once again, and I have lost count…) and there we will evaluate whether surgery is needed at Quirón Dexeus.

“Thanks to my whole Honda team for taking care of me these past few days. Sorry for the scare, I will be back!”

His return to action is not expected in the short term.

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— The Motorsport.com Team