Maverick Viñales in Italy for new shoulder surgery: aiming for Jerez

After ending his MotoGP weekend in Austin early, Vinales flew to Italy for a new procedure: will he be back in action at Jerez?

Maverick Vinales drew a lot of attention during pre-season for his training with Jorge Lorenzo, who became his performance coach. There was great curiosity to see him in action after preparing with the five-time world champion, but things did not go well. In addition to some technical issues with the KTM RC16, physical limitations also affected him. During the recent weekend in Austin, MotoGP made its stop there and he had to call it quits after the first free practice session. His left shoulder, injured and operated on in 2025 after the heavy crash at the Sachsenring, still wasn’t right. A screw that had been inserted had shifted, requiring another surgery.

Vinales flew to Italy and returned to the Sassuolo hospital, from which today he posted some photos and the following message on social media: "Well... I already feel better. The screw is out and the operation went well. Many thanks to Dr. Porcellini, Dr. Padolino, and Dr. Giorgini for taking care of me. Now it’s time to focus on recovery and getting back to 100%."

The Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider did not specify whether he will already return to racing at Jerez, the venue of the next round on the 2026 MotoGP calendar. The event is scheduled for the weekend of April 24–26, and his hope is to be able to ride his RC16 as normal. We’ll see if he can do it and what updates there will be about his future. His move to the factory KTM team for 2027 was considered almost certain, but there may be further assessments to make regarding his physical condition and performance.