De Angelis to leave Japan after horror crash

Seriously injured MotoGP rider Alex De Angelis will be transferred to San Marino within the next 10 days after his horror crash in last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, officials said Saturday.

After eight days in the intensive care unit at the Dokkyo University Hospital in Mibu, doctors have deemed him fit to travel.

The confirmation on the clinical improvement of the San Marino rider was given by Michele Zasa, who has been treating De Angelis in Japan this week.

Officials said preparations were under way to transfer him to San Marino within the next 10 days, where he will be admitted to the State Hospital for further treatment.

De Angelis was in critical condition after a practice crash caused bleeding inside his brain on the eve of the Japan Grand Prix.

The 31-year-old also fractured five vertebrae and two ribs, while suffering a slight fracture of the sternum and the left collarbone, according to his team, Team e-motion Iodaracing.

He was unconscious briefly after the crash but came to before he was taken by helicopter from the circuit to the nearby hospital.
Source: AFP