OXFORDSHIRE MotoGP ace Bradley Smith will be fit to race at the Catalan Grand Prix, despite suffering wrist and hand injuries after crashing in practice at last weekend’s Italian GP.

The rookie Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider fell at a high-speed downhill chicane and got his left hand caught underneath the bike as he slid into the gravel.

It left him with a gruesome wound on his left little finger, but he battled through the pain barrier at Mugello for his best-ever finish of ninth.

His injuries will need to be re- examined before the race in Barcelona and a planned skin graft has had to be cancelled, but he will be fit to race in Spain.

The Oxford star said: “The good news is I will be fit to ride again at the next round at Barcelona.

“The bad news is I have a cracked bone in the scaphoid of my left wrist and the little finger on my left hand will be permanently bent.

“The doctors were unable to carry out the planned skin graft operation because the skin was so badly damaged around the little finger. But they are confident it will heal – as will the crack in the wrist.

“If I was going to sit at home with the finger in a splint it would head quite quickly, but obviously I want to ride at Catalunya, so the priority is that I don’t get an infection in the wound and it can start to heal naturally. “I am going to have this problem for a while and maybe the summer break will give me the time I need to let it heal itself. “I am now going to stay in Italy for a few days to be continually checked by the doctor before heading to Barcelona.

“I want to thank all the Clinica Mobile staff and those responsible for my treatment in Italy.”