Kubica to Undergo Second Surgery

Further information has emerged on the medical situation of Robert Kubica, following his crash in Rally Ronde di Andora on Sunday. Apparently, the Polish driver had a positive night in an induced coma after his 7-hour hand surgery yesterday and is now able to have good communication with those visiting him in the hospital.

“The patient will stay in intensive therapy for 24 to 48 hours,” said the director of the trauma centre at the Santa Corona Hospital in Pietra Ligure, Dr Giorgio Barabino, in an interview with Il Vostro Giornale.

“We are optimistic, anyway, since he is responding very well to treatment. Obviously he feels a lot of pain, but it couldn't have been any different,” he added, sharing more information on the type of injuries sustained by the Pole and the way his medical recovery has gone until now.

“After the crash, Robert was taken to the trauma centre with the maximum hemorrhagic shock. The first phase of stabilization was long and difficult, and it carried on in the operating theatre. Wounds-wise, there was large bleeding which was difficult to control.”

“He is coming out of sedation and is responding well. He shows good breathing autonomy, but lung complications may arise. We'll see in the next hours. In any case, the hemorrhage is out of danger.”

Despite the progress in his medical condition, the hospital's director of orthopaedics Dr Francesco Lanza revealed that Kubica will need to undergo a second surgery in the near future.

“The patient will have to undergo more surgery: not only on the parts already treated, but also for other problems and traumas he suffered, for which we couldn't work on because of the emergency", said Lanza.

“The important thing was to stabilise the patient and to pad the biggest wounds. For the fractures suffered on his leg, he will need at least three or four months to allow the bone to set back together.”

Talking about his driver's state, Renault boss Eric Boullier insisted that despite the initial recovery projections made by the Italian doctors, he expects Kubica to be up and ready in less than one year. However, depending on his period of inactivity in F1, the team will opt for either one of its test drivers, or “different options.”

“He (Kubica) is definitely out for a couple of months but I expect the recovery will be quicker than one year,” said Boullier. “But today it's a bit too early to know exactly how long it is going to take. Should it be a short-term replacement we will take one of our reserve drivers. If it has to be longer we may have to consider different options.”