Jorge Lorenzo will miss this weekend's Japanese MotoGP after trying his injured left wrist in opening practice at Motegi.

The Ducati star, who only discovered yesterday that the fracture caused by the technical problem in Thailand is worse than thought, took to the track at the start of FP1 but returned to the pits without setting a lap time.

A shake of the head to team manager Davide Tardozzi was followed by Lorenzo leaving the garage and he has now been officially announced as withdrawing from the rest of the event:

Lorenzo looks set to lose fifth in the world championship this weekend - with Cal Crutchlow, Danilo Petrucci and Johann Zarco all within seven points of the triple MotoGP champion, who has just one week to recover before the Australian Grand Prix.

Had Lorenzo known how serious the wrist fracture was, it seems likely he would have opted for surgery after Buriram. Instead, Phillip Island is now also in doubt.