Button could miss next race due to shoulder injury

The troubled Benetton star, who qualified 21st for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, has had a pain-killing injection to get him through Sunday's race. He has been gamely fighting the problems with his right shoulder since the second race of the season in Malaysia and finally saw a specialist two days after the San Marino GP.

Button said a 10-day rest from testing since Imola had helped improve the condition of his shoulder. His management team had considered resting him for Barcelona before he visited a specialist.

"It has helped that I haven't been in the car for the last couple of weeks," he said in Spain. "I picked up a tweak in Malaysia and it hasn't been right since, but I'm not really sure what caused it."

He will see experts again in London next week if the injury is aggravated by the gruelling 65-lap Barcelona race, but Button is hoping the medication and the attention of the Enstone team's specialists will cure his injury.

But if it does not, the team and his advisors feel it would be better for the 21-year-old to miss a race and get the chance to recuperate fully, rather than risk long term harm. The absence of power steering on the Benetton has added to his problems.

"We will consider all the options after seeing how Jenson is after Sunday's race," said his manager, David Robertson. "If it is in his best interest to miss the next race to give himself more time to recover from the shoulder injury, then that is what we'll do. His health is the most important thing here. We've got to take the long term view not the short term view."

Should the 21-year-old be forced to miss the Austrian race, it could lead to a Grand Prix debut for Benetton test driver Mark Webber. The Australian is currently contesting the International Formula 3000 championship for the Benetton junior outfit, Super Nova.