Petronas Yamaha expects to be with🐼out the injured Fr♏anco Morbidelli for the next four rounds of the MotoGP World Championship.

The reigning title runner-up was forced to withdraw from 🍸Assen and undergo🥂 surgery to repair the meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, damaged in recent training accidents.

An 'eight-week rehabilitation programme' was initially predicted, a timeline that suggested Morbidelli might be ready to return after the upcoming Austrian rounds on Augജust 8 and 15th.

But SRT team principal Razlan Razali believes Silverstone (August 29) and Aragon🍌 (September 12) are also unlikely and that Morbidelli♔ won't be back until his home Misano round on September 17-19.

"Franco is recovering well from his knee surgery. We want to ensure that he is at 100% before he cꦓomes back, so I think that we won’t expect him to be racing again until Misano – although I wish it will be sooner," Razali said.

"This is a trac𒁏k that he loves, he knows well and it should be a good one to see his return at. We all continue to wish him well in his recov🌞ery and to come back only when he feels completely fit."

Yamaha World Supeꦅrbike rider Garrett Gerloff took Morbidelli's place on the A-Spec M1 at Assen, but the American cannot ride at Austri🅘a 1 due to a clash with the Brno WorldSBK round.

Triple MotoGP race winner and new Yamaꩲha test rider Cal Crutchlow is among the list of obvious candidates for the Red Bull Ring events, which could als🐎o serve as preparation for a popular entry (either with Petronas or as a Yamaha wild-card on a Factory-spec bike) at his following home Silverstone round.

Crutchlow might not be the only big name returning to the grid in Austria, with KTM test rid🎐e🗹r Dani Pedrosa mulling over the option of a wild-card.

Morbidelli, who took Petronas Yamaha's only podium of the season so far with third place at Jerez, cla൲imed h🐓is first ever MotoGP win at Misano last season.