10/03/2011
NEWS STORY
Talking to reporters in Barcelona, the Lotus Renault GP team doctor, Riccardo Ceccarelli, has admitted that Robert Kubica's recovery following his accident last month will take a "long time".
Asked when the Pole might return to the sport, Ceccarelli refused to be pushed, admitting that making a prediction would be "impossible".
"This year, next year, three years? I can only say what I know," he added. "He's reacting well but it will take a long time."
In a freak accident during the Ronde di Andora Rally early last month, a guardrail pierced the through the 26-year-old's car, leaving him with a partially severed right hand and fractures in his right leg and arm.
"Robert is getting better every day," Ceccarelli. "I see that he is recovering physically and psychologically very quickly. This is not a surprise for us as we know Robert very well but it is a surprise for the doctor of the hospital. They are satisfied how he is reacting to the surgery and the injuries that he has. We are happy with the strong reaction. These are positives things in a traumatic situation.
Asked when the Pole's recovery might be complete, he replied: "No one can answer because we can only say that the surgeons did a great job. Robert is very strong and he is recovering in a good way. It is a question which is impossible to answer, the time is impossible.
"We have two positive aspects," he continued. "The job done by the doctors and Robert who is strong. All the other things are impossible to say."
Revealing that the driver will remain in the hospital where he has been treated from the outset, Ceccarelli said: "They have specialist surgeons for the hand and there are some physiotherapists who are special for the hand. They are providing the best assistance every day for hours so it makes no sense to move from there. We do not know when we decide to move as we don't know how the recovery will be.
"The body has a capacity to react which is different from person to person," he continued, "so we follow day by day to understand what he needs. He is moving fingers, moving the wrist. That is positive, we cannot predict anything else. The main fracture was in the arm and everything follows with the improvement of that, with the elbow and the hand. These are the main points of the injury, and what we have to follow with deep attention."