One of the most highly-awaited riders for next year's Superbike World Championship, Marco Melandri, gave his team and fans a few worrying moments last week when he had to have a check-up on what he thought was a serious pain in his shoulder.

The 28 year-old, who is scheduled to make his WSBK debut next year for Yamaha after nearly a decade in GP racing, said on his Twitter profile: "I had a big pain with no reason, that's wierd".

Luckily a scan did not reveal anything and the Italian rider is now able to prepare for the next tests for Yamaha in the new year. "Everything is going good. I'm just getting old," he reassured his fans. "I need to be back on my R1 as soon as possible!".