Factory-contracted Ducati MotoGP rider Fermin Aldeguer has sustained a serious leg injury in the lead-up to his second season in the category.
Aldeguer was the standout rookie in a 2025 campaign that also made him a MotoGP race winner and was hotly-tipped to build on that in a second season at the satellite Gresini team, where he has been placed by Ducati.
A training accident now threatens to jeopardise his start to the season - as while details about the injury remain scarce, what has been revealed by his Gresini team suggests it is significant.
Aldeguer had a crash on Thursday while training on a road bike at the Aspar Circuit - operated by the eponymous grand prix team - near Guadassuar in the Valencian Community, as reported by the local Plaza Deportiva.
Gresini has described his injury as "a fracture to the shaft of his left femur" - and he will head to Barcelona to be operated on on Friday.
A femoral shaft fracture - ie a break in the middle part of the bone - implies that a significant force was exerted on the bone and, while no recovery timeline can be projected just off that, it appears impossible for this not to impact Aldeguer's sophomore season, even assuming full and straightforward recovery.
The MotoGP field will convene in Sepang for the first official pre-season test in just under a month's time. Track action at the season opener in Buriram begins on February 27 - 50 days from now.
