• Lorenzo lost tip of the finger at turn 12 on Phillip Island
• Spaniard unlikely to suffer permanent damage

Spain's Jorge Lorenzo, the 2010 MotoGP champion, should suffer no permanent damage to his left ring finger after it was severed in a warm-up for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

Lorenzo lost the tip of the finger when he crashed at turn 12 of the Phillip Island track, ending any hope he had of catching Australia's Casey Stoner in the title race.

Plastic surgeons in Melbourne said after surgery to reattach the finger that Lorenzo was unlikely to suffer any permanent damage to nerves and tendons.

Lorenzo was immediately ruled out of this weekend's penultimate MotoGP round at Sepang, Malaysia, but he hopes to be fit in time for next month's final race in Valencia, Spain.