Source: MotoGP.

Team Suzuki ECSTAR’s Aleix Espargaro has been given the green light to race in this weekend’s Mugello MotoGP race in Italy after undergoing a positive ultrasound examination today in Barcelona to evaluate the recovery process of his injured right hand.

The Spaniard underwent surgery to reconstruct his right thumb ligament that was broken in the crash he had in Le Mans during FP3.

“I’m happy because doctors said the recovery process is positive and I definitely want to try to race,” Espargaro said. “The crash in Le Mans was one of the worst in my career; I suffered a lot of pain and also my right thumb ligament got broken. Dr. Mir and his colleagues did a great job with the surgery, everything went well and my recovery has been good.

“I don’t feel 100 percent, but I definitely want to get back riding and join my team for the race in Italy. This race will be tough, Mugello’s straight is so long and we will probably suffer a little on top speed, but at the same time the track in its whole is very fast and on this matter our chassis can make a real positive difference.”

Further evaluations will be done day-by-day in terms of pain and riding capabilities to determine whether Espargaro will in fact line up for Sunday’s grand prix.