MotoGP rookie Jorge Martin recovering after surgery

MotoGP rookie Jorge Martin is starting his recovery after undergoing surgery on three of the injuries suffered in Saturday's huge accident at the Portimao Grand Prix.

The young Spaniard fell from his Pramac Ducati on an out-lap and, while TV cameras missed the start of the incident, Martin was seen sliding into the gravel trap at highspeed, where he and the bike were then thrown into a series of vicious cartwheels.

The Doha pole position starter and podium finisher required surgery for fractures to the metacarpal of his right thumb, right malleolus (ankle) and left tibial plateau (knee), later posting on social media:

Aleix Espargaro - who along with Maverick Vinales was publicly thanked by Martin for taking him training and lending him bikes when he couldn’t afford them earlier in his career - said of the Portimao accident:

"Jorge is very young and these ups and down, after the pole and now the big crash, happen because he's trying. He still needs to understand the bike and when you are so brave like Jorge is, this can happen.

"If you are a little bit more of a relaxed rider maybe you will not have the big crashes, but also you will not finish on the podium. So I prefer to be brave and have these crashes and Jorge will be back soon."

With Martin ready ruled out of next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, Pramac has drafted in Tito Rabat to ride alongside Johann Zarco at Jerez, Ducati's usual stand-in rider Michele Pirro being busy with MotoGP testing duties.