Toni Elias Undergoes Surgery, Has Screws Removed

The latest MotoGP rider to go under the knife is Toni Elias, as the Spaniard has recently undergone surgery in Barcelona to have the screws removed from his left hand and right ankle. The LCR Honda rider had the screws inserted back in March following a crash during Testing at Jerez.

Elias, who is the inaugural Moto2 Champion, hit the asphalt between turns one and two at the circuit when he found his riding line blocked by a slower moving 125cc rider, leaving him unable to avoid going down.

The 27-year-old rider had 5 bolts on his left hand and 1 bolt on his right ankle to fix fractured bones with plates.

The crash threatened to derail his status as title favorite, but he manage to come together and clinch the inaugural Moto2 World Championship at the Malaysian Grand Prix, which also brought him a deal with Team LCR for 2011.

Apparently the surgery, performed by Dr Joaquim Casanas, went pretty well, as Elias left the Teknon Clinic confident in his rehabilitation process.

“I had a peaceful night and I have to say it is a lot less painful than I expected,” Elías told motogp.com. “This was a good time to have this operation, because now I have plenty of time to recover ahead of the Test in February. After 15 days I’ll start a full rehabilitation programme.”

As said, Elias is not the only MotoGP rider that has completed surgery within the last couple of weeks, as Valentino Rossi (Ducati), Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati) have also undergone similar procedures.