It’s been a rough week for the Espargaro brothers in MotoGP->ke5142. A day after it was announced that Suzuki Ecstar rider Aleix Espargaro would need thumb surgery following a crash at the Le Mans GP, younger brother and Yamaha->ke301 Tech 3 rider Pol Espargaro also went under the knife for a similar arm pump procedure that sidelined Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa earlier in the season.

Getting surgery was the only recourse for the younger Espargaro, who admitted that he had been suffering from the condition for quite some time. He managed to hold off for as long as he can but things came to a head on Lap 7 of the Le Mans Grand Prix, which forced Monster Tech 3 Yamaha to sign off on getting the surgery as soon as possible.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Angel Villamor in Madrid, the same doctor who performed the procedure on Pedrosa. It’s still unclear how long the younger Espargaro will be shelved, but using Pedrosa’s recovery time as a peg, Pol would probably miss at least one race to have time to get strength back on his arm. That’s not a definite timetable because Espargaro could end up racing at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello since the race is still two weeks away.

If he can't make it for the race, Monster Tech 3 Yamaha is going to have to find a suitable replacement to temporarily take his place on the grid.

Continue reading to read more about Pol Espargaro's recovery from arm pump surgery.

Why it matters

You gotta feel bad for the Espargaro brothers especially with the impressive seasons they’ve been having. But that’s the nature of the sport, or any other sport for that matter. When you get injured, you just have to roll with the punches and try to get back on the saddle as fast as possible.

The good news is that Pol’s surgery isn’t going to have a long-term recovery process so he should be back racing in no time. Aleix’s injury is little more complicated but like his brother, he won’t be out of action for a long time.

Like everybody else, I’m looking forward to seeing both Espargaro brothers back racing in no time. Most people talk about the title contenders and for good reason. But go down a few spots and you’ll see how impressive the Pol and Aleix have been for their teams. Pol has 35 points so far for Monster Tech 3 Yamaha with Aleix not far behind at 31 points for Suzuki Ecstar.

That’s good for eight and ninth places, respectively, which is no small feat considering how competitive the 2015 MotoGP season has been so far.