Surgery rules Aleix Espargaro out of Malaysian GP

Aleix Espargaro will miss the Malaysian Grand Prix after fracturing a bone in his left hand during last weekend's race at Phillip Island.

The Aprilia rider was in the leading group when he crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix but was still expected to take part in Sepang.

However, Espargaro, who has returned to Barcelona for surgery, revealed in an Instagram post that the pain is too much for him to participate.

"The idea after the injury was to avoid surgery and to try to race here in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the situation is forcing me to go back home for surgery so that I will be able to fully recover for Valencia," Espargaro is quoted as saying by the official MotoGP website.

"In agreement with Dr Mir, we agreed to have the surgery done on Thursday in Barcelona.

"It was an unfortunate crash, but I am already focused on the last race of the season where I want to demonstrate the level that the Aprilia and I have reached."