SUCCESSFUL SHOULDER OPERATION FOR NAKAGAMI

LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami has undergone successful surgery on his injured right shoulder. The Japanese star opted to have the work done after his home Grand Prix at Motegi to give himself the best chance of being fully fit for the 2020 MotoGP season and has been replaced by Johann Zarco for the final three races of the 2019 calendar.

Taka was operated on by Doctor Hiroyuki Sugaya at the Funabashi Orthopedic Surgical Hospital on Tuesday. The surgeon was pleased with how procedure went and Nakagami is already looking forward to getting started on his rehabilitation program.

Dr. Hiroyuki Sugaya: 

“I’ve finished surgery on Mr Nakagami and he had severe cartilage damage in the shoulder, so I removed the damaged cartilage to mobilize (the shoulder). The final outcome looks very nice, so I think he will be ok for the next MotoGP season.”

Takaaki Nakagami:

“Yesterday I had surgery and it was successful. I’m really grateful to Doctor Sugaya. I’ll start physiotherapy when I can and will hopefully be fit and well as soon as possible. I want to thank IDEMITSU, HRC and LCR for understanding my decision and for giving me their support. I can’t wait to be back for the Sepang test.”