The exact details of new MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden's impending shoulder surgery have now been revealed.

The Repsol Honda rider will have further MRI and CT scans on Wednesday (November 29) at the Freemont Clinic in California, prior to an operation scheduled for the following day.

The surgery will repair an undisplaced fracture through the right greater tuberosity (shoulder bone). At the same time the metal plate on the 25-year-old American's right collarbone will be removed. The plate, a legacy of a Supermoto accident in 2004, was bent when Hayden was taken out by team-mate Dani Pedrosa in the Portuguese Grand Prix and, combined with the shoulder fracture, has caused Hayden considerable discomfort ever since.

Hayden revealed little about the injury following the accident at Estoril, which handed Valentino Rossi an eight-point title lead heading into the Valencia season finale, to avoid giving the Italian a psychological boost prior to the showdown. Hayden went on to finish third in the race, clinching his first world title, while reigning five-times champion Rossi fell on his way to 13th.

With the 2006 championship in the bag and the winter testing ban approaching, the decision has been made to complete the surgery in order to give Hayden the maximum time for recovery before the 2007 testing programme begins at the end of January.

Ideally, Nicky would have preferred to wait a further week before undergoing the surgery, allowing him to take part in the final test of the year at Jerez from November 28-30, but it seems that was not possible.

"The shoulder's been pretty uncomfortable since Estoril and the testing since the last race hasn't made things any better - it actually hasn't been much fun to ride under these circumstances," said Hayden, who has attended two tests since the Valencian Grand Prix. "I'd love to be at the Jerez test and it's going to be hard to be at laid up at home. But it's time to get this thing fixed so that I can come back fully fit for the tests in January and February and be ready for the 2007 season."

Meanwhile, Hayden's Repsol Honda team-mate Pedrosa, who missed the recent Sepang test due to arm surgery, will attend the three-day Jerez test to continue development of the new RC212V.