Toseland out of surgery and aiming to be ready for Monza

Article from http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/5-news/7283-toseland-out-of-surgery-and-aiming-to-be-ready-for-monza.html

James Toseland (BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike) has had his chances of returning to action at Monza boosted after he underwent a successful operation to remove the surgical pins in the right hand he injured in testing some weeks ago.

Said the double champion just hours after the procedure, "Everything has gone well and it took only just over an hour to get all the pins out. The doctor was really pleasantly surprised how fast the scar tissue on the ligaments has grown, really fast. He said everything is in position with my hand now and he manipulated it quite a lot to check. Now it is a case of getting strength and movement back because obviously it is really stiff. It is a case now of seeing how goes between now and next Thursday. I have physio booked every day with Isla Scott on the Isle of Man, and hyperbaric treatment, so I will do everything I can to try and make it strong enough and have enough movement to race at Monza. But if not Monza, then at Miller I should hopefully be fully fit again. I am going to play it day by day, but everything is in place and ready to rock and roll so I can be back racing when it is up to strength."

Toseland's injury was career threatening at one stage and only the quick intervention of his surgeon ensured that James would be in a position to recover well enough to continue his racing life. "I should get full strength and if not full movement then at least full use out of it to do my job. My surgeon Mike Hayton has definitely saved my career."

The immediate concern of Toseland is that the next circuit is Monza, which places particular stresses on the throttle and braking hand of any rider - first fully extended to pin the throttle wide open for long stretches, then frequently having to pull the brake lever during sustained braking from high speed into the many chicanes. "The right hand movement is so critical in racing as you have to pull the throttle back and also close it back fast enough to engage the brake for Monza at such high speed," explained Toseland. "I know what all the forces entail because I have ridden Monza for a long time now, so I know what strength I need. I am certainly nowhere near that now, but day-by-day it will get better and better and by next Thursday I will see what it feels like."