Fermín Aldeguer suffered a preseason injury that set him back significantly. 
The start of 2026 was not what Fermín Aldeguer had anticipated. The Spanish rider suffered an accident while preparing for the preseason, which left him unable to participate in the official tests at Sepang and Buriram, and forced him to miss the season opener in Thailand. He made his return at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he finished a commendable eighth place, despite still needing crutches when dismounting the bike due to his left leg injury. However, the pain has not subsided as the weeks have passed.
The incident occurred in January when the #54 suffered a hard crash while training on a street bike at the Aspar Circuit in Valencia. He required surgery to treat a fracture in the diaphysis of his left femur and began a long recovery process. Nearly two months passed before he could get back on a motorcycle, during which time he worked tirelessly to shorten the timeline and return to competition as soon as possible. His comeback finally took place at the Autódromo Ayrton Senna in Goiânia.
Since then, Aldeguer has faced limitations, especially when getting off the bike. He still limps and admits he continues to experience pain. “The real problem is at the level of preparation, recovery time, and confidence in supporting that leg. But in terms of riding, it’s not affecting me. When I’m on the bike, I don’t think about the leg at all,” he told the press in Le Mans this weekend, as reported by Motorsport.
The rider from Murcia says that what hurts him most on the bike is his inability to train normally. “It causes me problems in daily life—not being able to train calmly, not being able to wake up in the morning without pain,” explained the Gresini Racing rider, teammate of Álex Márquez, who is expected to move to Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team next season pending official confirmation.
The pain will persist until the end of the season
Aldeguer noted that his ordeal will continue until he can undergo another surgery to remove the screw that doctors placed to seal the fracture. “I hope it doesn’t last long. According to the doctors, I’ll keep feeling pain until they remove the nail in the bone, which is very large. That will be at the end of the year. It’s impossible to operate now, and the injury hasn’t fully healed yet,” he stated.
This is a tough blow for the young rider, who last season earned the Rookie of the Year award and finished eighth in the championship. He achieved three podium finishes in main races, including one victory in the sweltering heat of Indonesia. He hopes to replicate those results as soon as his ordeal is over.
