csconstantine.com

ROBERT KUBICA is unlikely to race in Formula 1 this year after suffering horrifying injuries while competing in a rally in Italy on Sunday.

And a question mark hung over his entire Grand Prix career because of the nature of his injuries which smashed up the right side of his body.

Some reports said a crash barrier pierced the centre of the car and he suffered multiple fractures to his right arm, hands and leg.

The biggest concern is his partially severed right hand.

Surgeons said they had managed to save it having to be amputated but they will not even know for a week exactly whether he will get full use of it again.

Intricate operations had to be carried out to restore its blood supply.

And over Sunday night and into Monday the Renault Lotus racer was put in an induced coma to help with the recovery process.

Kubica, was set to be Renault’s lead driver for the season, starting in Bahrain in a little over a month’s time.           

Now medical staff say he is unlikely to contest any of the gruelling 20-race series.

He was trapped in the car for an hour, which is unheard of in a rally, and later  underwent a seven-hour operation at Santa Corona Hospital in Pietra Ligure.

Advertisement - article continues below »

The accident happened just three miles after the start of the Ronde di Andora rally.

He lost control of his Super 2000 Skoda Fabia which he had been set to race a few weeks earlier at the famous Monte Carlo Rally.

Hand specialist Doctor Igor Rossello said it would take several days for doctors to assess the success of the operation.

"We need to wait for a week at least to verify whether the hand survives," he told Italian media.

"The nerve lesions are the ones that leave us with the most question marks over the recovery of functions.

“Rehabilitation will be relatively long, probably one year. “

But he added that motor racing drivers recover faster than other patients.

“Drivers are always very special patients. I have a lot of motorbike patients and they heal in a much faster way, faster than normal people."       

Kubica's co-driver Jakub Gerber was uninjured.

“After we crashed I saw Robert holding his arm, and after a few moments he lost consciousness,” he said.

Bruno Senna was tipped to be favourite to stand in for the Pole but they may now need a more senior racer is Kubica is out for the entire season.

Get more motorsport news and opinion, including driver diaries, on Mirror.co.uk's motorsport blog.

Labels: Again, Formula, Kubica, Mirrorcouk, Robert, unlikely