MotoGP: Nicky Hayden discovers hand fracture after Aragon crash

The Ducati rider had missed the Czech GP after breaking the same hand at Indianapolis in August.

At Aragon he was catapulted over the safety barrier in an early crash. Initial medical checks suggested Hayden had avoided injury, but it has now emerged that he fractured a bone in his right hand.

"I thought I had escaped unscathed from the crash at Aragon, but unfortunately it looks like I picked up another injury," he said.

"When I got home, my right hand was bothering me a bit, so I went for an X-ray and CT scan, and it turns out I have a fracture in my right radius."

Hayden does not think it will be too large an impediment in this weekend's Japanese MotoGP round at Motegi.

"It's definitely not the best situation, but as it's not too painful and I have pretty good grip strength, I'm hopeful that it won't cause too many problems this weekend," he said.

"Racing's full of ups and downs. We'll try to ride this one out and hopefully get a decent result in Japan to get a little momentum going and get some confidence back."

Ducati team boss Vito Guareschi said the squad was happy for Hayden to ride as he was confident the injury would not be an issue.

"Nicky will have to deal with another small hand fracture, but he's a very determined rider and he has reassured us that his condition is OK and that he has every intention of immediately returning to action," Guareschi said.