After struggling on Friday at Mugello, DRIVE M7 Aspar rider Nicky Hayden expects to have wrist surgery next week, whilst a decision on his continued participation in the Gran Premio d'Italia TIM will be made on Saturday.

Hayden was one of the few riders to venture out this afternoon as he tested out his injured wrist after only managing six laps in the morning.

The 2006 MotoGP™ World Champion battled the pain to complete five further laps but it has become apparent that the intense physiotherapy he has undergone since the last race at Le Mans has not been enough to cure the problem.

A decision will be made on Saturday regarding his continued participation at Mugello and Hayden has already taken advice from doctors to undergo surgery next week.

After Friday’s practices he said, “I had a lot of pain in my hand today. I thought the break after the last race at Le Mans would be enough for me but here the problem is worse. I worked really hard last week to try and recover with different kinds of therapy and a hyperbaric chamber but the injury to my right wrist has not improved.”

“In France I was able to ride through the pain but this circuit is much faster and more demanding. After talking to the doctors it seems the smartest move is to undergo surgery next week in order to be fully fit again as soon as possible.”

He continued, “It's not really improved a whole lot, as much as we'd have hoped. Of course falling on it again in Le Mans didn't help. I'm riding with pain killers at the moment. It's not ideal.”