Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden is struggling with front tyre problems at Misano's MotoGP round and Michelin's qualifying tyres are making the problem worse, not better.

The former MotoGP world champion, who is still on crutches following a supermoto snafu at the X-Games which put him out of the Brno round, is here to make sure he doesn't go backwards in terms of tyre development before the all-important Indianapolis round in September.

“Things haven’t gone perfectly smooth here, I’m having a few issues with the front. I was pushing the front quite a lot yesterday, then I crashed and today it’s still pushing," said Hayden.

"When we put in qualifying tyres it just exaggerated the problem, so I’ve been struggling to find a front tyre I like, though the rear seems to be working pretty good here.

"Obviously I don’t have a very good starting spot and at 28 laps it’s going to be a long race. We’re going to try a few more ideas in morning warm-up, try to get a good start and try to salvage some kind of result.

"The heel is okay, not perfect, but I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”