Op puts McRae San Remo decision on hold

McRae's operation lasted almost three hours and the 32-year-old spent the night in Edinburgh's Murrayfield Hospital before returning to his home in Lanark today.

Speaking to The Guardian newspaper before the operation McRae said: "Normally they just pull [the cheekbone] back and so long as it locks into place they would leave it, but because obviously I want to do San Remo he's plating it and screwing it as well, just in case it gets a bit of a jolt or a bump, as it could drop out again."

The combination of the fracture and the operation has caused a lot of swelling, which must go down before doctors can make a decision on the Ford driver's fitness.

"The operation went very well," said a spokeswoman. "Colin still wants to compete at San Remo, but we can't expect a decision until at least the end of the week, maybe the beginning of next."

The Rallye San Remo takes place on October 20 - 22 and is the third to last round in this year's World Rally Championship, with events in Australia and Great Britain following it.

McRae still has a good chance of taking his second driver's world championship and currently lies third in the standings with 42 points, just four behind championship leader Marcus Gronholm. There are four drivers in with a chance of taking the title, with Gronholm on 46 points and Richard Burns just two behind in second spot. McRae's Ford team mate Carlos Sainz is fourth on 41 points.

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Op puts McRae San Remo decision on hold

A decision on whether Colin McRae will compete on the San Remo Rally could be delayed until the start of next week after the Scotsman underwent surgery yesterday (Monday) to reset the fractured cheekbone sustained in his 80mph accident on the Corsica Rally 10 days ago