Renault doctor predicts long road for Kubica

Renault doctor Riccardo Ceccarelli on Thursday admitted Robert Kubica’s will be a "long" road to recovery.

Speaking at the Barcelona test, he said the injured Pole is recovering well in an Italian hospital after his horror rally crash more than a month ago.

"Robert is getting better day by day," Ceccarelli is quoted as saying by the team’s official website.

He confirmed that the 26-year-old’s physiotherapy programme is underway and that Kubica can now move his right wrist as well as fingers.

Ceccarelli also confirmed that Kubica’s mental state has been "up and down" but he is now pushing hard to return to full fitness.

But as for naming an estimated date for his return to action, the Italian doctor is cautious.

"Nobody has a clear idea of when he will be ready," he said.

"All we know that it will be a long recovery, but we have no idea how long. We see his progress day by day, but we can’t make any predictions."

Q&A with Riccardo Ceccarelli

Riccardo, first of all, how is Robert?

Robert is getting better day by day. His physical and psychological recovery is encouraging and all the doctors at Pietra Ligure Hospital are surprised when they see how quickly he is recovering from everything. From the pain, the movement, the scars, everything is improving every day.

Will Robert stay at Pietra Ligure where he is at the moment?

The plan is for him to stay there, but we are not yet sure for how long. We decided to stay in Pietra Ligure because there is a full medical team looking after him, so the care he is getting is first class. There are highly skilled physiotherapists for his kind of injuries, who are working with him for many hours each day, and for the moment the best solution is for him to stay there. On behalf of Robert, I would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to all the medical staff at the hospital for the excellent job they have done.

Is Robert likely to need more surgery?

It’s impossible to say in the long term. For the moment the answer is ‘no’ because everything is going very well and we are very pleased with what the doctors have done for him. There have been no complications or reasons for further surgery.

What is his daily routine?

He is doing a lot of physiotherapy - exercises in his bed or in a chair. It’s a simple routine to work on his body to help him recover as quickly as possible. The main injury was to his right arm and hand, but he is moving his wrist and fingers, which is positive.

How is Robert’s psychological state?

After a trauma like this, normally there is the risk of depression when you discover how many injuries you have. So to begin with, Robert’s psychological balance was up and down, but this only lasted a couple of days. After his initial sadness, we saw a good reaction from him because he is mentally very strong and now his psychological state is very positive. His focus is to put all his effort into his recovery and getting back to normal. The enormous support from the fans and the F1 community is also very important for Robert. Lots of people have come to visit him and this has been very useful for his recovery.

Do we have an idea of when he will be able to return to racing?

Nobody has a clear idea of when he will be ready. Even the surgeons don’t know because they say we need some months to see the recovery of the muscle tissue and the nerves, which varies from person to person. All we know that it will be a long recovery, but we have no idea how long. We see his progress day by day, but we can’t make any predictions.