Motorcycling-Yamaha's Quartararo has arm pump surgery after Spanish GP setback

(Reuters) - MotoGP championship contender Fabio Quartararo has undergone successful arm pump surgery to rectify the problem that cost him victory in the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend, his Yamaha team said on Tuesday.

The Frenchman was leading the race in Jerez at the halfway mark when his pace began to drop significantly and he slipped to 13th place by the finish.

Quartararo had a similar operation on the same right arm in his rookie season in 2019, but on Sunday he said it was the first time he had been affected by the issue at the Spanish circuit.

"@FabioQ20 had a successful operation today for Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome (CECS or ‘arm pump’) at the CH Aix en Provence hospital," Yamaha said in a statement on Twitter.

Yamaha added that 22-year-old Quartararo, who has won two of the four races so far this season, is expected to be fully fit for his home race in France on May 16.

Despite Sunday's disappointing result, Quartararo sits two points behind Ducati's championship leader Francesco Bagnaia of Italy.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)