Alonso to have further surgery on fractured jaw post-season

Fernando Alonso has revealed he will require further surgery on his fractured jaw at the end of the season, but stressed it won’t affect his return to Formula 1.

Alonso’s injury was sustained whilst cycling in Switzerland after being involved in a road accident last month.

The Spaniard was transported to hospital where he underwent an operation to repair the fracture, but was able to continue training in preparation for the season ahead.

Speaking on the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, Alonso said he will need a second operation to remove two titanium plates after the 2021 campaign.

“I don’t expect any issues honestly,” Alonso said, as quoted by Motorsport.com, when asked about how the crash had impacted his preparations for the season.

“I’ve been training for I think three weeks or two weeks, absolutely normal and I’ve been in the simulator as well, Monday and Tuesday, so you know the preparations were not affected too much.

“I missed only a couple of marketing days and filming days which I was happy with in a way. And then, I recorded everything yesterday afternoon, so I had a very intense day on marketing activities. But yeah I feel fine, obviously.

“One thing is the professional side and driving side, which is 100%. On the personal side, obviously I will have to remove two titanium plates that I have on the upper jaw, that will be removed at the end of the season.

“So, there is still something going on after the championship finishes but, as I said, they will not affect my professional life.”

Two-time world champion Alonso is scheduled to make his on-track debut for Alpine on Saturday, as he prepares for his F1 comeback after two years away.

Aware of how tight the midfield battle will be in 2021, Alonso believes the French outfit will need to be perfect at every race to compete for points.

“I don’t fear any particular challenge,” Alonso said. “But how the midfield is right now, it is very competitive, so it’s something that we are aware of, that we need to maximise and we need to make perfection every weekend if we want to score good points.”