Nicky Hayden Has Successful Surgery

Nicky Hayden

Nicky Hayden had successful surgery on a detached right knee medial collateral ligament, which was carried out by Dr. David Chao at the Oasis Surgery Center Wednesday.

The Honda WorldSBK Team rider twisted his knee last Friday during a flat-track training session near Barcelona, Spain.

Hayden will have a post-operation evaluation in the coming days to determine when he can begin physical therapy.

“Unfortunately, I injured my knee between the two private tests of Aragon and Jerez," Hayden said. “I had a chance to do some flat-track training during my days off on a small, second-gear, track but I caught my foot awkwardly in a bit of a rut and twisted my knee around. Luckily, I didn’t crash nor hurt anything else on my body, but I knew straight away that something was wrong with my knee.

“It turned out that I had a tear to the MCL so, after consulting with some doctors back in the U.S., I had an operation today to fix it," he continued. “I will rest for a few days but it looks like I’m going to start rehab very soon and I will follow the doctor’s instructions very closely. Injuries are never good, but luckily I have a bit of time now before the new season comes around. I want to thank Dr. Chao and his staff; I will now spend some days testing and then tackle the rehab in order to jump on the new bike as soon as possible."