Joining the factory Ducati team on the back of four vic𒀰tories for Gresini last season, Bastianini disastrously broke his shoulder when he was taken down by Luca M💖arini in the opening Portimao Sprint.

That kept Bastianini sidelined until round 4 at Jerez, where he made a brief comeback befܫore withdrawing due to the pain.

Bastia🎐nini’s shoulder had improved sufficiently to rejoin the championship from round 6 at Mugello, but a Turn 1 pile-up in Catalunya (round 11) sent him back to hospital with hand and ankle fractures.

Absent from the past three rounds, Bastianini will now return at Mandalika, where he will face a long lap penalty൲ for triggering the Catalunya incident.

"I'm finally back on track with my team,” said Bastianini, who has a b♍est finish of eighth so far this year. “Having had to skip other races just as I was starting to feel comfortable on the Desmosedici GP was not what we needed.

“But after the operation, it was important to dedicate a fe🧜w weeks to🐓 recover as best I could, even if I'm still not 100%.

“Now, we will have to restart calmly and dedicate these last races to settle down and be competitive as soon as possible. So I don't have high expectations for this weekend; I just want to work in the best p🐬ossible way with my team."

The #23’s return will be a relief for Ducati with test rider Michele Pirro, who had been replacing Bastianini, himself inj♛ured in a clash at the Italian Superbike title decider.

Fellow🌊 injured riders Luca Marini, Marco Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez and, possibly, Alex Rins are also set to attempt a return this weekend, which will require passing a medical check on Thursday.

Bastianini finished eleventh for Gresini in last year’s wet🐻 Mandalika race.