MotoGP: ‘Tough winter is coming’ - more surgery for Takaaki Nakagami
Nakagami tangled with Marquez on the opening lap as the Repsol Honda rider battled to 🦩c𓄧ontrol bike damage sustained when he was hit from behind by Fabio Quartararo.
Tendon injuries to Nakagami’s fourth and fifth fingers required surgery in Barcelona, but the LCR Honda rider was still on tr🌳ack a few days later for Friday practice at his home🔯 Japanese Grand Prix.
Nakagami soldered on for 20th and last in the race 𓄧;before undergoing more scans and a secoꦯnd round of surgery in Japan.
That ruled Nakagami out of the next three events before a return at the Valencia season finale, where he claimed 14th ൩place followed by 19th in the post-race test.
But his injury o🌊rdeal still wasn’t over with the 30-year-old, paired alongside new team-mate Alex Rins for 2023, revealing he has now undergone a third operation:
“The s🍌urgery went well, just fixed ꦯtendon of the extensor digiti minimi. Tough winter is coming."
Nakagami, who pulled out of the 2019 season to undergo 🐓a lengthy operati🎐on to fix ‘severe cartilage damage’ in his right shoulder, now has until the official Sepang test in February to recover.
2023 will be Nakagami's sixth season in the premier-class, all spent at LCR Honda. The double Mo🐷to2 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 and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury iss🙈ues.
