Ducati MotoGP test rider Michele Pirro will step in again at Pramac Ducati until Danilo Petrucci is fit to return to racing after his recent hand injury.

Petrucci broke three bones in his right hand in a Phillip Island test crash last month, then exacerbated the injury with a further dislocation when he tried to make his comeback at the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix last weekend. He underwent fresh surgery on Monday.

Pirro stood in for Petrucci at the final pre-season test while he recovered from the initial injury. There had been speculation Petrucci’s absence might create an opportunity for Casey Stoner – now back on Ducati’s books as a test rider and ambassador – to return to racing. The two-time MotoGP champion tested Ducati’s 2016 bike in Qatar on Monday and Tuesday. But the slender possibility of a Stoner call-up was dismissed on Wednesday when Pramac announced that Pirro would return as Scott Redding’s teammate until Petrucci was fit.

The Italian said at Losail that he was “99 percent” likely to miss at least the next two races at Termas de Rio Hondo and Austin before attempting to return for Jerez in late April.