Marco Melandri was one of the riders that had to go through some horrific moments in the beginning of the Catalan GP, when a series of riders produced a very serious crash. The Italian, along with his compatriot, Loris Capirossi, and Spaniard Sete Gibernau, had to be taken immediately to the hospital. After the doctors examined them, each had to face some pretty cruel verdicts. Gibernau was to miss the MotoGP for at least 5 weeks, Loris Capirossi seemed to have gone out with some minor bruises and Marco Melandri had to recover a week or two before starting to race.

The Italian riders were the only ones who continued racing, but didn't manage important performances. As for Capirossi, he lost almost all chances of keeping in touch with the leading position in the overall standings, and Marco Melandri had to settle for pretty disappointing positions. Well, after almost a month from the crash, Melandri found out what was really keeping him from winning. A second scan, taken a few days ago, showed that the Italian competed with a fracture in his right collarbone.

"The week break has given me chance to recover but also to find out more about why I'm in so much pain with my right shoulder. The examination I underwent has shown up a fracture to the right collarbone. That explains the intense pain I was in at Assen and Donington. I've already spoken with both Doctor Porcellini, the specialist who operated on my collarbone in 2003, and Doctor Costa about continuing the physiotherapy. The worst is over but I still have to try to move my right arm as little as possible", stated Melandri.

The Italian will try to make the most of it at Sachsenring, but it will certainly not be an easy job. And that's because the German grand prix is one of the most technical circuits in the MotoGP calendar that requires all your body when trying to make a good turn. Both he and Rossi have the same problem, since the world champion is still recovering after his crash in the Dutch TT qualifiers.

The German GP will get under way on Sunday, starting 12.30 CET.