Rossi continues recovery from shoulder surgery

Valentino Rossi’s recovery from recent right shoulder surgery is continuing according to plan, with an eye toward his being ready for the February debut of the Desmosedici GP11 in Sepang, Malaysia.

From his home in Tavullia, Rossi on Tuesday went to nearby Cattolica, home of his good friend Marco Simoncelli, to have stitches removed from the right shoulder he injured in a motocross accident on April 15. Following the injury, the nine-time world champion struggled, admitting late in the year that the shoulder was a more grievous injury than the left leg he broke in Mugello. Rossi went on to say that the damaged shoulder contributed to his inability to control his YZR-M1 when the Yamaha got loose in Mugello.

Following the surgery on Nov. 14, Rossi’s doctors said the normal convalescence is 90 days, which falls past the Feb. 1-3 initial test of the first iteration of the Rossi Ducati, but he’s expected to be ready.

The next step is to begin active rehabilitation, first in the pool, then in the gym. That should come in a little over two weeks if his recovery continues to progress. At the moment he’s doing only passive rehabilitation to prevent the growth of scar tissue.

"I'm doing the rehabilitation at the shoulder, the situation is improving," Rossi said in a posting on his website (www.valentinorossi.com). "Two weeks have passed since the operation and this morning Dr. Porcellini took away my stitches. From today I will be back to work in the gym – at least for the rest of the body – and to make the rehabilitation of the shoulder even if passive above all not to lose mobility. In about two weeks I will begin to work actively in the pool and the gym to be ready for the three days of testing in February (1-3). We must make haste, but we hope to be fit for the first test with Ducati in 2011 in Sepang. Ciao to everybody."