Pedrosa could be out for six weeks

The Repsol Honda rider broke a bone in his right hand in a crash during testing in Sepang on Tuesday.

According to a report on the official MotoGP website, Pedrosa visited the Dexeus clinic in Barcelona for assessment on his return to Spain and was operated on this afternoon.

The operating surgeon Dr. Xavier Mir pronounced the work a success, although said he did not know how long Pedrosa would be forced to rest for.

"Functional recovery will return in the next 72 hours," Mir told the MotoGP website. "The timescale for a return to sporting action is unknown, because in such cases the capacity for recovery in elite sportsmen is surprising. The majority of cases require a minimum of six weeks."

Should Pedrosa be out for that long, then he would be ruled out of the next tests in Phillip Island, Sepang and Jerez - meaning he would only be ready for the season-opening race in Qatar.