Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa has confirmed he will not race at the Austin MotoGP round, preferring to undergo further surgery to try and correct a long-term arm-pump problems.

After his sixth place finish in the opening race of 2015 in Qatar last weekend, Pedrosa returned to Spain on Monday and met with specialists in Barcelona and Madrid. Their recommendation was for him to undergo surgery as soon as possible, which Dr. Angel Villamor will perform in Madrid. Special attention will be paid to the closing of the wound as this will guarantee better recovery and less risk of the problem arising again in the future.

Surgery is planned for the morning of Friday 3rd April with an expected recovery time of four to six weeks, this means Pedrosa will certainly miss the Red Bull Austin and Argentina races. His return to racing won’t be confirmed until doctors can ascertain the success of the surgery. He will be replaced by HRC test rider Hiro Aoyama.

“Obviously this isn’t the news I wanted to be sharing with everyone. However, after speaking with some key doctors and medical professionals that I trust, they are all in agreement that this is the only option for me,” said Pedrosa.

“We will have the surgery on Friday and they will use a special technique to help close the wound to try and prevent this issue continuing to affect me. Let’s hope it’s a success. I want to thank all my fans for their support, but especially Honda, Repsol, Red Bull and all our sponsors for their understanding in this matter.”