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CryptoData RNF Aprilia rider Miguel Oliveira will miss MotoGP’s upcoming French Grand Prix, after being diagnosed with more severe injuries than first anticipated following his collision with Fabio Quartararo during last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Oliveira will be replaced for Le Mans by Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori.
Dislocating his left shoulder in the crash on the opening lap of Sunday’s race at Jerez, it was originally hoped that Oliveira would be able to return to action in Le Mans presuming that there were no further complications with his injuries.
However, after further examination in the days following, the team has now confirmed that a fracture to his arm means that his recovery process is going to be longer than anticipated.
“While immediate medical attention successfully repositioned his dislocated left shoulder,” the team said in a statement, “further assessments revealed a more severe injury, including a fracture in the humerus and an anterior ligamentous labrum injury.
“Although Oliveira and his doctors have decided against surgery, he will need to focus on the healing process and will not be able to participate in the French round.
“The team wishes him a speedy recovery and looks forward to welcoming him back for the Italian GP.”
One thing that will work in the Portuguese rider’s favour is that by announcing early that he will not compete in France, he has a five-week window to help aid his recovery, with the series taking a three-week break following the Le Mans race and ahead of the next round at Mugello in early June.
It marks the second time this season that Oliveira has been forced to miss races through no fault of his own, after also skipping the Argentine Grand Prix at the start of the season following injuries sustained in a crash with Marc Marquez at the opening round of the championship in front of a home crowd at Portimao.
Savadori, who already rode Oliveira’s RS-GP in the post-Spanish GP Monday test at Jerez, will be lining up for his 18th premier-class start.
He was thoroughly impressive at Le Mans in his sole MotoGP start there until now in 2021, propelled into a strong position by mixed conditions during the weekend before the engine gave up on him in the race.
