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If ever there was a time to be disabused of any notions of the glamorous life a professional motorcycle racer leads, the weeks immediately following the end of the racing season, after testing has been completed, is surely it.

Riders around the world head into operating theaters and physical rehabilitation facilities to have more permanent fixes applied to the temporary patch-up jobs done to allow them to keep racing during the season. 

There has been a long list of riders having surgery or treatment of one sort or another over the past week or so.

Staying fit during the off-season is critical for any serious motorcycle racer. At the pinnacle of the sport, the off-season raises the stakes even higher as MotoGP riders are differentiated only by minute ticks on a very exacting scale of talent. Keeping one’s body and mind ready for battle is only part of the equation though, and we often see the top riders cross-training with a variety of sports, most notably off-road riding. Of course, with the added pressure to continue training hard in the off-season, there is bound to be accidents and injuries.

Nicky Hayden was caught out last week, as the American broke his shoulder and ribs during an indoor flat-tracking training accident. And this week, the off-season has claimed Monster Tech 3 rider Andrea Dovizioso, as the Italian broke his collarbone while training on his dirt bike. Though the full extent of Dovi’s injuries are not yet known (Tech 3 was between press officers the last we heard), it is expected that the Yamaha rider will be fit enough for MotoGP’s second off-season test January 31st at Sepang.

Nicky Hayden’s 2012 is going to get off on the wrong foot, as the American MotoGP racer has reportedly broken his left scapula and fractured two ribs, while training near his home in Owensboro, Kentucky. The news is a bad break for Hayden (no pun intended), as the incident occurred while the Ducati Corse rider was training at a private indoor flat track facility, and was the first time Hayden had been on a motorcycle since breaking his scaphoid at the Valencian GP on November 6th.

Undergoing x-rays, CAT scans, and an MRI, doctors have ruled out the need for surgery at this time for Hayden, though his injuries will be assessed next week by Dr. Arthur Ting out here in sunny Fremont, California. Based on his rate of healing the next few weeks, Hayden may or may not be fit for MotoGP’s first 2012 winter testing session, which is slotted for January 31st. Knowing the Kentucky Kid though, he’ll likely just grit his teeth and git-r-done when the time comes.