Former World Superbike Champion Carlos Checa may have got to the bottom of why he hasn't been remotely on the pace over the last two rounds after finding out he is carrying a shoulder injury.

The Alstare Ducati man had an examination following the Assen round and found an osseous edema (bone bruise) on the head of the humerus of the left shoulder, an injury that probably results from a previous trauma and which has worsened and become inflamed as a result of effort made during the races.

The Spanish rider has undergone an intense course of physiotherapy treatment to reduce the inflammation and the trauma, in order to be physically fit for this weekend’s races at Monza.

"During the last couple of events, especially in the races themselves, I’ve been having some problems with my left shoulder but the evening after the second race in Assen the pain got a lot worse," said Checa.

"I went to see a specialist once I got back to Spain after that round and unfortunately he’s told me that I have an osseous edema on the humerus. I will continue to receive treatment in Spain up until Thursday and I hope that that will help me to get through this coming weekend without any problems."