GreenBkk.com Formula 1 | Kubica recovering well but still too early to predict return

Kubica recovering well but still too early to predict return

The length of Robert Kubica's recovery is still unknown © Sutton Images

Dr Riccardo Ceccarelli, the Renault team's doctor, is confident Robert Kubica is continuing to make progress after his horror rally accident, but said it is too early to put a time span on his recovery.

Kubica is currently in the Santa Corona di Pietra Ligure hospital in Italy where he has been receiving treatment since his crash. Kubica underwent three bouts of surgery, mainly on his right arm, and now faces a long period of rehabilitation with no further operations planned. Quite how long it will take before he is back in an F1 car, Dr Ceccarelli said it was impossible to say.

"This is obviously a question we cannot answer," he told media in Barcelona. "No one can answer when and how, because we can only say that the surgeons did a great job and Robert is very strong and recovering in a good way. But there is a third factor which is the nature, how will the nature be with him? Nice or not, we cannot say. Fast or not, we cannot say. The question of time is impossible to answer. We have two positive aspects: The job done by the doctors and Robert who is strong. That is the only thing we have at the moment. All the other things are impossible to say."

He said Kubica could move all ten fingers and his daily routine comprised of physiotherapy and doing simple exercises on a chair or in bed, working the body as much as possible.

"Robert is getting better every day," Ceccarelli added. "I see that he is recovering psychologically and physically very quickly - this is no surprise for us because we know Robert very well, but it is a big surprise for the doctor at Pietra Ligure hospital. So this is good news because they are satisfied with how he is reacting to the surgery and all the injuries he had before this strong reaction."

Dr Cecarrelli also helped Kubica with his rehabilitation after a road accident before he reached F1. In that instance he also had arm injuries, but Dr Cecarelli said the two instances were not comparable.

"It is completely different," he said. "As you know from the statement of the injuries it is completely different. It's a more difficult situation. Last time it was one month and a half but here it will be longer. I know everybody would like to know when and how, but if I say something like this it would be stupid. It is a question with no answer. It will take long, that we know, we will see day by day how it is going and only after months will we understand."

Credit: ESPN F1 (en.espnf1.com)