Ducati Team rider Nicky Hayden underwent surgery on Monday, 14 November, to speed up the healing process on his right wrist, which was injured in a crash at the November 7 Valencia Grand Prix. During the operation, which was carried out at the Fremont Sports Therapy and Surgery Center in Fremont, California, USA, Dr. Arthur Ting placed a small screw in Hayden’s fractured scaphoid. The radial styloid, which is also fractured, was not treated.

“Everything went pretty smoothly,” Hayden said shortly after the operation. “The scaphoid is a slow-healing bone, so you don’t want to wait, only to find out in January that it’s not healing correctly. I’m happy to get it fixed right so that I’ll be ready to go when I need to be.”

After wearing a brace and using a bone stimulator for four weeks, Hayden will have his wrist X-rayed again to assess its status. He is confident of being at full fitness before his return to the track for the first day of the 2012 testing season on January 31 in Sepang, Malaysia.

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