Pedrosa: "The objective is to try and be fit for the first race"

Seventy-two hours after entering hospital in Barcelona Dani Pedrosa was given permission to go home at 9:30 this Saturday morning. Pedrosa, who had an operation on Wednesday afternoon to cure two injuries, spoke to the press at 10am after leaving the USP Institut Universitari Dexeus hospital.

Alongside the Repsol rider was Doctor Xavier Mir, head of the Hand Surgery and Microsurgery Unit in the USP Institut Dexeus, and he explained in detail the extent of the injuriesd suffered by the rider from the Repsol Honda Team, and the surgery involved. Afterwards it was Pedrosa himself who described how he fell in Qatar and his state of mind at this very moment.

Both Dr. Mir as well as Dani Pedrosa gave a positive message to the journalists, although neither of them wanted to give a definite date for the rider´s return to sporting activity. But at the same time they emphasisd the fact that theoperation was a great success and they are both optimistic about a rapid recovery. Doctor Bartolomé Ferreira, who operated on Pedrosa´s knee, was not able to attend the press conference owing to his professional obligations.

Whilst the recovery time for the injury to his left arm will be reasonably short, he will be able to start his rehabilation within a week, his knee will need more time to heal after it received a skin graft. The rider will have to rest it completely for three weeks, he will then be able to begin bending the joint at some point during the fourth week.

Nevertheless, Doctor Xavier Mir stated that in many cases the recovery times for professional sportsmen are shorter. Moreover he recognised and emphasised the fact that his colleague Doctor Bartolomé Ferreira had also got a great result.

"I feel quite a lot better. When I arrived the truth is that the knee did not look very good, but the operation went well and I am pleased. This morning Dr. Ferreira made his final check and I saw how good the knee was looking," commented Pedrosa. "Now I have to rest a little as it is very important to give the body a break for the first few days, let things take their course, then I will start my recovery plan. I imagine that at the beginning it will be tough trying to give the skin and knee some elasticity. Referring to my arm, this will not be so complicated, as it will not be immobilised for so long."

"We are planning to work hard and so be ready for the first race in Qatar, but when the day arrives we will have to see whether I am really in perfect shape to get on the bike. The objective is to try and be fit for the first race. You do not choose to be in a situation like this, but we have no other choice than to face up to things and to carry on. I have fallen many times and I have always fought back and I will do it again. We will get back to riding fast on the bike, but it is true that I am having some problems this pre-season, but there is nothing we can do about that, we just have to keep going."

Dr. Xavier Mir said: "The work that we did today on Dani Pedrosa´s knee allowed us to make it look a lot better, and so now it is looking very good, and Dr. Ferreira who carried out the operation, has allowed him to begin putting his foot on the floor as there were some doubts about whether he could walk with crutches."

"Turning to the recovery times, we are optimistic, although we cannot commit ourselves to being ready for the first race. We will take all the relevant steps to speed his recovery, and even though we cannot say whether he will be ready for the first race we do not rule anything out. The knee injury is more complicated but it is looking very good, so we are optimistic. We know that in many cases the recovery times for professional sportsmen are usually shorter, and keeping this in mind Dani´s prognosis is very good."

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