Grosjean undergoes surgery for hand injury

Romain Grosjean suffered an injury to his right hand during Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix that resulted in a broken bone and the need for surgery to repair the problem, but expects to be ready for this weekend’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

The Swiss-born Frenchman was hit from behind by Alexander Rossi during the Detroit GP and pitched into the concrete barriers where his right index finger was hit by the spinning steering wheel of the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda.

A busy sequence of activities since Monday – with IndyCar Medical Director Dr. Julia Vaizer and her husband playing central roles – has readied the 40-year-old to get back to business on Saturday when multiple practice sessions and qualifying takes place at WWTR.

“When Rossi hit me, I let (the steering wheel) go, and then I tried to grab it again to make the corner, and then car hit the wall again, and the steering wheel went right, left, right, left, right, left, and my hand was in the way,” Grosjean told RACER.

“I was very lucky that it wasn’t worse, honestly. I’ve got to give a big credit to IndyCar and the medical team, and Julia Vaizer. She’s been amazing. Her husband was in Detroit and he's a surgeon who works on hands, so I went to the medical trailer and said, ‘I think I have a problem.’”

With Grosjean inside the mobile IndyCar Medical Center that travels to each race, a plan of action was crafted.

“We did an X-ray, and it's like, ‘Yeah, surgery,’ and then they organized everything,” he said. “Surgery on Monday, rested Tuesday, Wednesday morning, went to the hospital, removed the dressing, and then this morning (Thursday) I was doing simulator at (Tony) Kanaan’s place and then went to the gym. Everything is cleared by IndyCar, and so I’m good. Let’s go race.”