Johann Zarco has undergone surgery on the fractured wrist he suffered in a horror crash at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. (More Sports News)
A shaken Zarco knew he was "very lucky" to avoid serious injury after a shocking high-speed collision with Franco Morbidelli at the Red Bull Ring last weekend.
The Reale Avintia Ducati rider and Morbidelli went flying off their bikes, which came perilously close to hitting Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales as they hurtled across the track.
Zarco went under the knife on Wednesday and hopes to make a swift return, with the Styrian Grand Prix to come this weekend on the same track where he had such a fortunate escape.
The Frenchman posted a picture of himself on Instagram with his right arm in a sling giving the thumbs on and wrote: "Hi everyone! All good with the operation! Let see now how fast can be my recovery!"
Rossi on Tuesday criticised Zarco for a "serious error in judgement" in Spielberg, sharing footage of the incident via his onboard camera on Instagram.
He wrote on social media: “I understand that in the race we play for so much and everyone gives their best to be at the front, but we must not forget that ours is a dangerous sport, and the safety of us and our opponents is far more important than gaining a position.
"Zarco didn't intentionally cause such a carambola [crash] but it still remains a serious error in judgement, one which a MotoGP rider cannot afford, especially at 310kph."
He added: "The images from my camera are the ones that scare me the most because from here you can understand the speed with which Franco's motorcycle crossed the track in front of me.
"It passed so quickly I didn't see it, and when I went back to the pits I was already shaken enough after seeing Zarco's motorcycle literally flying over Maverick's head."
