Miguel Oliveira is facing another race against time to return to full fitness in time for the upcoming French MotoGP after dislocating his shoulder in a heavy lap one incident in the Spanish MotoGP at Jerez.

The Portuguese rider came off worst in a three-bike tangle on the run to Turn 2 just moments into the full-length feature after being wiped out by Fabio Quartararo's falling Yamaha.

Oliveira was on the outside line coming into the braking zone when his RNF Aprilia pinched Quartararo's Yamaha against Marco Bezzecchi's VR46 Ducati.

Left with nowhere to go, the Yamaha folded in the middle and slid out wide, taking the Aprilia with him to force Oliveira into a high-side.

Landing heavily on his shoulder, Oliveira was stretchered to the medical centre to be treated while the race was red flagged, with doctors initially confirming a dislocation and ruling him out of the restart.

However, further examination revealed a more complicated injury, with an RNF Aprilia spokesperson confirming a small fracture in the humerus of Oliveira's left shoulder.

“After the team of the medical center at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, that took care of Miguel immediately detected a dislocated left shoulder and put it back in place, further examinations at the hospital of Jerez de la Frontera later on Sunday showed that the damage was bigger than expected and revealed a small fracture in the humerus of his left shoulder. He’ll undergo further checks this week.”

Forced to skip the one-day test at Jerez today [Monday], it leaves Oliveira with less than a fortnight to regain his fitness and pass a medical before being passed to compete in Round 5 of the season, the French MotoGP at Le Mans.

Should Oliveira be forced onto the sidelines, Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori is expected to assume his RNF seat for Le Mans, the Italian having stepped up to replace him in the post-Spanish MotoGP test.

The fracture and dislocation is already Oliveira's second injury of the 2023 MotoGP season, the four-time race winner forced to skip Round 2 in Argentina after hurting his hip in an accident at Portimao triggered by an errant Marc Marquez.

Oliveira currently sits 14th in the overall standings with a best finish of fifth place, achieved twice - once in the Jerez Sprint Race and once in the Grand Prix of The Americas main GP.

CLICK HERE for the full 2023 MotoGP World Championship standings after the Spanish MotoGP