Moto2: Locatelli coming out of coma

The Italian rider was flown from Spain to Bellaria Hospital in Bologna yesterday.

In addition to his head, face, shoulder and leg injuries, Locatelli has also damaged the ligaments in his right knee and has a suspected fracture to his right elbow, according to a report in Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Dr. Romano Guerra took Locatelli to Bologna, after taking care of him at Cadiz's intensive care department," Dr. Claudio Costa confirmed to the newspaper.

"The rider is now in the care of doctors Marco Zanello and Leonardo Pomponio, who will also check his chest conditions. A bronchoscopy will soon be performed on him to evaluate the state of his left lung and to duly wash it.

"The two doctors will progressively lighten his state of pharmacological coma in order to awaken him."

Dr. Costa suggested that Locatelli's other injuries may require less dramatic surgery than was originally feared.

"Doctor Roberto Cocchi (a specialist in the maxillofacial department) gave a very positive opinion, and explained that the state of the fractures in Locatelli's face is better than expected," he said.

"Therefore the operations will be minimally invasive.

"The bad fracture on the left ankle can be considered to be have been operated on in a definitive way, without the need of further operations."

Wild card rider Alex Debon may substitute for Locatelli at the Gilera team from the next round in Turkey.

"I am still awaiting the decision of the Aprilia directors," Debon told the official MotoGP website.

"One has to see how Roberto Locatelli feels in the days after his transfer to Italy, but all the signs point to a long recovery period for him.

"I will know in a few days if I will ride at Istanbul or not. In any case, the most important thing is that Roberto recovers as quickly as possible, and I wish him all the best."