Rossi cleared for return after leg break

Valentino Rossi has been passed fit to take part in the Aragon MotoGP race three weeks after breaking his leg.

The Movistar Yamaha rider passed a medical examination on Thursday at the Spanish circuit and will take part in Friday’s first practice session.

Providing he comes through that with no adverse effects he will attempt to qualify on Saturday ahead of the following day’s 14th round of the 18-race series.

The 38-year-old Italian, who suffered a double leg fracture while riding an enduro bike during a training exercise on August 31, has ridden twice since undergoing an operation to repair breaks to the tibia and fibula of his right leg.

Following his medical examination a tweet from the official MotoGP account read: “@ValeYellow46 passed FIT to ride at the #AragonGP!”

Rossi had said he would try to take part in Spain after he spent Monday and Tuesday at the Marco Simoncelli circuit in Italy testing out the fitness of his leg.

Rossi arrived at the Aragon circuit on Thursday morning walking with the aid of a crutch and after being passed fit he will take part in Friday’s practice aboard his race bike.

“At the end I decided I will leave for Aragon and will try to ride my M1 this weekend,” Rossi said after the Italy test. “If I will be declared fit to ride, I’ll have the real answer after FP1, because riding the M1 will be a much bigger challenge.”

Yamaha had drafted in World Superbike rider Michael van der Mark as a possible replacement for Rossi if the Italian was not declared fit.

But after he passed the medical check Rossi’s Movistar Yamaha team said in a statement: “The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team will start round 14 of the MotoGP World Championship with their original rider line-up.”

Rossi currently lies fourth in the world championship standings, 42 points behind joint leaders Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso, with five races to go.

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