More "Training" Injuries

Valentino Rossi's career took a turn for the worse after injuries sustained during a motocross training session in 2010. This was followed by an horrific practice session crash at Mugello that resulted in a compound frature to his right leg. He recovered from the broken leg, but the shoulder injury plagued him right through the first half of the 2011 season. Last week Nicky Hayden suffered shoulder and rib injuries during a dirt track practice session.

On Thursday, Andrea Dovizioso broke his right collarbone during a motocross training session. He underwent surgery today and is expected to recover quickly. With three weeks to go before the Sepang test round, he could be back in shape in time to participate on his new Tech3 Yamaha M1. In 2011 Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow recovered quickly from simple collarbone breaks but both Rossi and Pedrosa were plagued with slow healing shoulders in the first half of the season. While these were more serious injuries, it's never good to start a new season with recent injuries no matter how quickly they heal. Maybe it's time the relatively small number of MotoGP riders consider some other way of staying in shape during the off season.