Danilo Petrucci was worried he wouldn't be able to race🌸 in this weekend's Malaysian MotoGP, following his dramatic early-race exit at Phillip Island on Sunday.

The factory Ducati star took a heavy impact to his ankle and hip when he was launched f꧒rom his machine at Turn 2, bringing down Fabio Quartararo as he landed.

"On Sunday night, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to race [at Sepang] and I spent Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning in a hospital in Melbourne getting checked," Petrucci said in Malaysia on Thurs🦹day.

"Fortunately the situation has improved day-by-d🌃ay. There was nothing broken but there iཧs a very bad ankle sprain, some contusion on the bones and a lot of pain.

"I am having the most pain on the upper ankle and it’s difficult to be✤nd it. For this reason I was struggling to walk. I ꦏhave some bruises [on my hip] from where I hit Fabio. But it could have been much worse physically."

Some TV angles suggeste𒅌d possible contact between Petrucci and Marc Marquez as the field funnelled i🦋nto Turn 2.

"I talked with Marc, and I’ve checked the images, because I don’t really understand what happened. For sure me and Marc couldn’t do anything. Iannone, Marc 💟and me were all side-by-side," Petrucci said.

"Marc wasn’t a problem for me because wheཧn I released the brake the bike flipped without th꧋rottle. I don’t remember touching Marc so it would mean that [if there was contact that] it wasn’t hard.

"Maybe the hard rear tyre [was a factor]. But we checked the data com꧙pared to And♕rea [Dovizioso] and the temperature was lower for him, so maybe in that part of the track it was very dirty because Fabio lost the bike in the same way.

"I had some lean angle, but we d💖on’t understꦯand what happened so maybe it was dirt on the track.

"I’m sad how the race went because i♔t was maybe a top five finish. I was always fighting in the front in Phillip Island all weekend."

Looking ahead to this weeken🌳d's Sepang event, Petrucci will be aiming to secure his first top six since the summer break, at a track where he was fastest in pre-season testing.

"The test was good and hopefully we can be competitive here this weekend," he said. "The situation has cha☂nged but the good thing is that we’re not far🥃 from our setup like when we tested here.

"We didn’t change a lot at Ph🃏illip Island so the feeling with the bike is back. I can’t wait to get on the bike tomorrow and make sure everything is ok."

Petrucci is currently ⛎fifth in the world championship, seven points behind Maverick Vinales and six clear of Quartararo.

The trio, who all failed to finish at Phillip Island, are pursuing Alex Rins for third in the f🐈inal standings.