MotoGP champion Jorge Martin's return to competition may be less distant than first feared, as the latest medical update issued by Aprilia is a "very positive" one.
Martin, who has contested just a single grand prix of his title defence season so far, is in the middle of a second prolonged injury absence after crashing on his return in the Qatar Grand Prix and being hit by the Ducati of Fabio Di Giannantonio.
The nature of his subsequent injuries - a hemopneumothorax in addition to double digit rib fractures - meant he first had to spend several nights in hospital in Qatar and then could only fly back to Spain nearly two weeks later, due to the delicate nature of lung injuries.
But a CT scan carried out at the Ruber Internacional hospital in Madrid upon Martin's return to Spain on Saturday has produced a promising outlook.
"The news is certainly good and very encouraging," said MotoGP medical director Dr. Angel Charte, as quoted by Aprilia.
"Martin has perfect lungs. The pleura, the membrane that surrounds the lung, is completely closed. Moreover of the theoretically 11 fractures he had, [only] three remain: the seventh, the eighth and the eleventh, which already show the ongoing progression of the callus.
"Therefore, in my opinion, the evolution has been very positive. Now we will wait as long as necessary and continue to monitor the evolution of these fractures from Madrid."
Martin will still face a significant ordeal to return to base fitness much less race fitness - but this latest update suggests his absence might not turn into the multi-month stretch that had been feared initially.
However, no timeline for a MotoGP return has been presented yet by Martin, Aprilia or Charte.
