Dani Pedrosa clearly struggled with strength in his left arm at the opening round of the 2011 MotoGP Championship at Qatar, although the Spaniard took the final podium spot behind Jorge Lorenzo and his teammate, Casey Stoner.
But Pedrosa is adamant about having another year of great performances on the Repsol Honda RC212V, and sought out some answers.
He went for additional tests, and his specialist in vascular surgery, Doctor Eusebio Sala Planell, diagnosed Pedrosa with intermittent compression of the subclavian artery, which causes the numbness and lack of strength in his left arm.
To fix this, Pedrosa will undergo additional surgery after the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, Round 2 of the MotoGP Championship that occurs this weekend. This will give Pedrosa a month to recover before the Portugese Grand Prix in Estoril May 1.
During this second operation, doctors are expected to take the titanium plate and screws out of Pedrosa's collarbone, which will release compression pressure that's causing the numbness.
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda MotoGP) says: "It's never pleasant to have an operation, but we've been looking for an answer for a lot of time about the effects of this injury and I'm calmed because I finally know what has happened.
"Now, we are in Jerez and I want to concentrate on the race, working with my team in the best possible way to prepare the Grand Prix. This race is special, the fans are always there to give you an extra point and I hope it helps me, as always. I like the track, I've had always good results here and I face the weekend with the aim to do my best in my current conditions".
Pedrosa sustained a double fracture to his left collarbone after a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix in Motegi last season. He underwent surgery, having the plate and screws inserted.
He missed the subsequent three races, returning for the final two 2010 MotoGP rounds. This year, Pedrosa is part of the only three-man team in MotoGP; the Repsol Honda team features Pedrosa, Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso. (Sam Sims)