Ducati's Nicky Hayden is confident of a return to action at the upcoming Misano MotoGP round after the massive crash at Indianapolis which made a mess of his right hand and prevented participation at Brno and the subsequent test in Italy.

Hayden says his recovery is proceeding according to plan. Although the bones won't have healed in time for the next race, the swelling has gone down and his head is now back to normal after taking a substantial whack.

“It was pretty tough to be home while my rivals were racing, and testing is also something that I hated missing, as we had some parts that we could possibly use this year," said Hayden.

"Everything else is good news though. Bones don’t heal in ten days, but the swelling is down in my hand, and the feeling is much better with both that and my head. Everything’s right on schedule, and I’m really looking forward to getting back on the bike.”