'Patient' Pedrosa says recovery on course

The Spaniard will sit out the final winter test at Jerez in a fortnight while he recuperates following operations on his left wrist and knee, which were both injured in a testing accident at Losail a fortnight ago.

Pedrosa was forced to miss Repsol's official 2009 launch event in Madrid's Palacio de Deportes yesterday, but addressed the crowd via a video link to update the fans on his fitness.

"I feel fine - that is making progress at a normal pace - and taking things with a lot of patience, because I still have two weeks left before I can begin to bend my knee," said Pedrosa.

"I have to let my body recover, which after all is what you have to bear in mind in a case like this.

"I would like to be fit enough to do more practice, but I will have to find another way to prepare. The objective is stil the same, try to be fit for the first race in Qatar in a month`s time."

The Honda rider has had a skin graft on his knee after the Qatar crash reopened a wound from winter surgery, which had been required following a crash in Australia last year.

He has also had a screw inserted into his wrist to repair a fracture in an area still recovering from the injuries sustained in his massive Sachsenring crash in July 2008.