New Factory Ducati
MotoGP star
Andrea Dovizioso is recovering after undergoing surgery to remove a plate from his shoulder.
The metalwork was inserted to help heal a right collarbone fracture sustained in a motocross accident last January.
“Just woke up. The doctors told me that the operation went well. Soon I will go home and start rehabilitation,” Dovizioso wrote on his Twitter page (@Andrea Dovizioso) on Tuesday evening.
The removal of the metalwork was not related to the mystery neck strain problems that prevented Dovizioso taking part in Ducati's private three-day test at
Jerez last week.
Dovizioso revealed that the neck issue had arisen several times since an accident at October's Sepang round, but had previously been successfully treated by physiotherapy and anti-inflammatory medicine.
The #4 then won a Supermoto team event in aid of the Marco Simoncelli Foundation on Sunday, riding alongside Mauno Hermune.
Dovi - who finished fourth and the top satellite rider for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 in
MotoGP this year - now has until the first official
MotoGP test of 2013, at Sepang in early February, to recover fitness in both his neck and shoulder.