Valentino Rossi undergoes successful surgery following double leg break

Rossi sustained fractures to the tibia and fibula in his right leg in a motocross accident in Italy on Thursday, and he underwent an operation on Friday to have a metal pin inserted.

Dr Raffaele Pascarella described the procedure as "perfectly successful" and the Italian star has vowed to make a quick return to the track following the accident.

"The surgery went well. This morning, when I woke up, I felt already good," the 38-year-old said in a Yamaha statement after the operation in the eastern Italian coastal city of Ancona.

"I'm very sorry for the incident. Now I want to be back on my bike as soon as possible. I will do my best to make it happen."

Dr Pascarella, who said the surgery lasted around an hour, added: "First I want to say that Valentino is fine and this is the most important thing for us all," he said at a press conference on Friday.

"I think he will certainly have to rest for 30 to 40 days, and then we will evaluate together in the next few weeks how to proceed."

MotoGP has two races in the next 40 days - at Misano and Aragon - while its flyaway triple-header of Motegi, Phillip Island and Sepang commences with the Japanese GP on October 15.

While the injury has been sustained to the same leg Rossi broke in a crash at Mugello in 2010, Dr Pascarella said that would have no effect as the bone would have healed within four to five months first time around, even though the fracture to the tibia was "very close" to the previous break.

"It's not a bad thing to have done it on the same leg, it's a different clinical story," he added.

Rossi is currently fourth in what was being touted as a five-way MotoGP title fight this year, trailing points leader Andrea Dovizioso by 26 points.