Champion Binder misses out on Grand Prix after surgery

MOTO2 rider Brad Binder has had successful surgery on his left arm and will miss the upcoming Grand Prix of the Americas as a result.

South African star Binder, who won the 2016 Moto3 title, was hurt during pre-season testing in Valencia last November, and had two operations subsequently.

But the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider, who battled to a 20th-placed finish in his Moto2 debut in Qatar, felt some discomfort again on the morning of last weekend’s Argentinian Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old who was born in Potchefstroom, took to Instagram this week to explain what happened ahead of a remarkable performance in Termas de Rio Hondo last Sunday to end ninth.

“Much better weekend for me in Argentina. Unfortunately the morning of the race we found the plate had moved in my arm causing the bone to break again after a wobble in practice the day before.

“But I wanted to still do the race and I surprised myself finishing in 9th. Today I landed back in Barcelona where the operation will take place. Hopefully 3rd time lucky… Thank you to my team @ redbull_ktm_ajo for everything, your support has been incredible and I hope to be back soon! #redbull #ktm”

The surgeon in Barcelona, Dr Xavier Mir, told the motogp.com website that the operation last two hours on Thursday. “Today we operated on Brad Binder, who had suffered a loosening of the plate on his left forearm. The operation consisted of three phases – the first, removing the old plate, which had lost the pronator axis.

“Secondly, we placed a new plate with the correct axis of the radius, so that it could do twisting movements.

“Finally, a graft removed from his arm to wrap around the old fracture and ensure that the bone heals as soon as possible. He will remain in hospital for between 24 and 48 hours, and we believe that he will be able to begin recovery exercises in three weeks.”

Binder has been ruled out of the Grand Prix of the Americas, which takes place on April 23 near Austin, Texas, and his return date has yet to be determined. ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za @ashfakmohamed