Miguel Oliveira has cast doubt on his planned return to action in the upcoming Italian MotoGP following a second injury lay-off this 2023 MotoGP World Championship season.
The Portuguese rider was caught out by a tangle involving Fabio Quartararo at the Spanish MotoGP in Jerez, which forced him out of the French race in Le Mans.
Leaving him with a shoulder injury, it came after the RNF Aprilia rider was forced out of action earlier in the season due to a collision with Marc Marquez.
Despite a longer than usual break between races ahead of the Mugello round, Oliveira admits he is in a race against time to be fit for it.
"The shoulder is not something easy to recover from but we are doing the best we can with the physio at home to put the shoulder back in a good performance place," he said.
"Today, I did a couple of laps with the MotoGP [bike] for the fans - no pushing - but I still feel very uncomfortable on the bike.
"I don’t know if I will be able to race at Mugello but I will wait until the GP week to see if I can race or not."
When Oliveira has been on track, he has proven competitive with the satellite Aprilia RS-GP package. As a result, he doesn’t want to rush the return in order to capitalise on it.
"I want to come back at 100% and be competitive. This is the main target. I know that it will be tough as every race you lose the rhythm, the pace, and so you have to return in a safe way.
"You can’t think about any injury. This will be the target. The approach will come based on how I feel with my body."
CLICK HERE for the latest 2023 MotoGP World Championship standings