The 2013 MotoGP season has been a bad one for shoulder injuries. Shoulder problems have caused Ben Spies to miss almost the entire MotoGP season, and now Karel Abraham has also decided to sit out the remainder of 2013.
The Czech rider injured his shoulder in a bad fall at Indianapolis, causing ligament damage which needs surgery to correct. Abraham is currently undergoing therapy to prepare for surgery, scheduled to take place in early October.
Abraham’s situation once again underlines how problematic shoulder injuries are. The shoulder is the most complicated joint in the human body, because of the range of motion the shoulder has.
To give the shoulder such freedom of movement, it contains a large amount of soft tissue and connecting ligaments. This tissue is easily damaged in a crash, and such tissue takes a very long time to heal properly, and complicated surgery to correct.
The Cardion AB team will now look for a replacement, but finding one will not be easy. They have been told by Dorna and the FIM that a replacement rider should have prior experience, either in MotoGP or World Superbikes, on the grounds of safety.
That severely limits the list of eligible candidates, especially as Paul Bird’s PBM squad must also find a similar rider to replace Yonny Hernandez, who is moving into the Pramac team to replace Ben Spies.
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
Source: Cardion AB; Photo: © 2013 Jensen Beeler / Asphalt & Rubber – Creative Commons – Attribution 3.0
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