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BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team factory rider Marco Melandri is confident that his right shoulder will not cause him any more problems. Over recent months, the Italian has been struggling with a lot of pain in his shoulder which particularly affected him when riding. When medical treatment over the last winter did not produce the positive effect he had hoped for and as it was still not clear exactly what was causing the problems, Marco decided that the best course of action would be to have an operation. Then, when he fell on his shoulder during a crash at the season opener of the 2013 eni FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island last Sunday, the pain increased again.

After returning home from Australia, Marco underwent a small operation on Wednesday 27 February. It was carried out by Dr. Giuseppe Porcellini at the 'Centro di chirurgia ortopedica della spalla' in Cattolica (ITA), a surgical medical centre specialising in shoulder injuries. In an arthroscopic procedure, Dr. Porcellini cleaned adhesions and arthritis to the acromion (the outer end of the scapula to which the collarbone is attached). The operation went well, without any major problems. Marco left the hospital at noon today (Thursday) and will start with rehabilitation next week. With six weeks to go until the second round of the season at Motorland Aragón, Marco and the team are confident that he will fully recover in time for the next races.

Marco Melandri: "I am very happy. The examinations showed that there is no injury to the shoulder but that the pain only had a small cause. Dr. Porcellini and his team did a very good job. With the surgery they have solved the problems which have been causing me pain. Now I am confident I will get well very soon. At the beginning of next week I will start with passive training on the shoulder and by the middle of March I will start to train in the pool. I will back in Aragon and even if I am not really 100% fit by then, for sure I will not have any pain in my shoulder."