Hayden goes under knife
11/15/2011 09:18:27 PM
Ducati's Nicky Hayden has undergone successful surgery on the fractured wrist he suffered at the Valencia MotoGP on November 6.
Hayden, 30, had a small screw inserted in his fractured scaphoid during the operation, which took place in California on Monday.
The American rider's radial styloid was also fractured in the crash, but was not operated on.
Hayden will wear a brace and use a bone stimulator for four weeks, before undergoing an X-ray to determine the extent of his recovery.
A three-time race winner in MotoGP, Hayden hopes to be fit for the first testing session of the 2012 season, which begins in Malaysia on January 31.
"Everything went pretty smoothly," Hayden said.
"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."
Hayden sustained the injury during a crash involving several bikes at the start of the race in Valencia, which was final round of the 2011 season.