Suzuki->ke371 Ecstar rider Aleix Espargaro is scheduled to have surgery today, May 19, 2015, after injuring his hand at the Le Mans MotoGP->ke1254 race over the weekend. Espargaro hurt himself after spilling hard during the third free practice of the event.

Initial tests taken after the spill revealed no signs of fracture and Espargaro still managed to participate in the race, completing 26 laps before coming back to the paddock for good.

Unfortunately, further examination conducted by Spanish doctor, Dr. Xavier Mir, revealed that Espargaro had torn a ligament in his right thumb, an injury commonly referred to in the sports world as “skier’s thumb.”

After consulting with the doctor and his team, the rider eventually gave the thumbs up - no pun intended - on getting surgery to fix the problem. The surgery will take place at the Dexeus Clinic in Barcelona, Spain. An update on Espargaro’s condition will be made once surgery is done. The best case scenario would be for Espargaro to not miss any races, but until the surgery is completed and a timetable of recovery is set, it’s going to be hard to speculate on Espargaro’s status for the Mugello Grand Prix on May 31, 2015.

If Espargaro can't go at Mugello, it would be a tough blow for Suzuki Ecstar, which has been having a pretty good season by its standards so far. The team wasn't expected to compete for the championship and it's probably not going to, but considering the circumstances of its first season back in MotoGP, it's been having quite the successful return season so far, thanks in large part to the performances of Espargaro and ridemate Maverick Vinales.

Continue reading to read more about Aleix Espargaro’s injury.

Why it matters

Just when it seemed like we would have a full roster of riders ready to take the excitement of the 2015 MotoGP season to a whole new level, we get hammered with this news that Aleix Espargaro would have to get surgery to fix a torn ligament in his right thumb.

Granted, Espargaro is unlikely going to find himself in contention for the title this season, but it’s still a disappointing blow for Suzuki Ecstar considering that he’s been having an impressive season so far.

To date, Espargaro has scored 31 points for Suzuki Ecstar, good enough for ninth place in the standings and four points ahead of teammate Vinales. Together, the two riders have given Suzuki 38 points in the constructor’s championship, placing an impressive fourth place behind the three title contending teams: Yamaha, Ducati, and Honda.

Hopefully, Espargaro’s injury isn’t bad enough that he’s going to be forced to miss some time for Suzuki. It would be a shame if he did since replacement riders haven’t exactly fared too well this season for their respective teams.

Right now, all we can do is wait for updates from Dr. Mir once Espargaro's surgery is complete. It's going to be an anxious day for Suzuki Ecstar and its fans so let's hope that the surgery goes about as well as it can and Aleix can suit up at Mugello on May 31, 2015.