Espargaro replaces injured Canepa

The 20-year-old Spaniard rode in place of Canepa at Indianapolis and Misano and has already signed a race deal with the squad for next year.

He plans to treat the Sepang race as a warm-up for his winter testing programme.

Espargaro said: "I am very surprised and happy to be back in MotoGP so early even if I am always sad when a colleague gets hurt. I hope Niccolo gets well as soon as possible and can be at his best for the Valencia race.

"I will take this weekend as a pre-season test: I have a lot to learn and this will be a great occasion for me.

"After the last race at Misano I have constantly trained and I am sure to be in good physical condition even if Sepang is always really hard due to the high temperatures and humidity."

Canepa crashed heavily in the opening practice session for the Australian Grand Prix last Friday and required skin grafts at a Melbourne hospital to enable a deep wound on his arm to close.

"I am really sorry I'm not able to ride in Malaysia," said the Italian. "Doctors have told me not to take any risks as the cut isn't looking too good and therefore I will be taking a break to be at my best for Valencia next month."