This weekend's Catalan Grand Prix will mark the one-year anniversary of Rossi's last grand prix win, as the Italian took advantage of being able to optimise his works Yamaha machine to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya's slippery track surface.

It followed his victory at Jerez several weeks earlier, which was achieved in very similar conditions.

However, Rossi recorded his worst finish for four years in this year's Jerez race, finishing down in 10th and a full 38 seconds behind race winner Dani Pedrosa.

With the Barcelona track surface dating back to 2007, Rossi told reporters in Mugello he worries he could struggle again as he did in Jerez.

"I am a bit worried, because the asphalt in Barcelona is very bad and the grip level is very low," he admitted. "In Jerez with these conditions, we suffered with our bike. But it’s very early to say.

"Anyway, I love Barcelona, I like [the circuit] a lot, also with the new layout," Rossi added, referring to the revised chicane added in the final sector this year introduced in the wake of Luis Salom's fatal accident last year.

Rossi finished fourth at Mugello having been involved in a motocross accident that left him with chest and abdominal pain the previous week, and said his "physical condition" stopped him from finishing on the podium.

The 38-year-old admitted the fact that Barcelona follows on so closely from his home race will make the Catalan event "hard".

"It’s better if I have one extra week, but it’s two in a row, it will be hard," Rossi said. "But for sure if I continue to recover like this, another week is important."

Additional reporting by Matteo Nugnes