Source: Supplied.

Ducati has confirmed Andrea Iannone will miss this weekend’s Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi, scheduled the return for the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island later this month.

Last week Iannone underwent a series of checks, which showed that the excess fluid in his back injury had been almost totally absorbed and that the calcification process of the T3 vertebra, which he fractured at Misano, was now well underway.

However Iannone’s doctor has advised him to continue with his rehabilitation and to wait a few more days until the fracture has completely healed, before going out onto the track once again. The Italian has opted out of the Japanese round.

The Ducati Team has decided not to replace Iannone for the Japanese round and will only line up on the grid at Motegi with Andrea Dovizioso.