Miguel Oliveira is still recovering from the injuries he sustained during the Argentina Grand Prix, and it has been confirmed that he will not participate in the upcoming race in Qatar.

To refresh your memory, Oliveira suffered a dislocation of the left sternoclavicular joint along with a ligament rupture during a collision with rookie Fermín Aldeguer in the Sprint Race.

After an initial check-up at the medical center in Argentina, doctors ruled out fractures but noted concerns about a sternoclavicular contusion and a large hematoma. Based on this assessment, Oliveira and his team decided he would return to Portugal for further medical evaluations. These later confirmed the seriousness of his shoulder injury, which led to his withdrawal from both the Grand Prix of the Americas and the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix.

Just like in Austin, Augusto Fernández will once again step in for Oliveira. Fernández, the 2022 Moto2 World Champion, raced in MotoGP with the KTM Tech3 team in 2023. In Austin, he made his debut with the Prima Pramac Yamaha team and finished 13th in difficult wet conditions. Now, he will race in Qatar—a track where he previously secured top-five finishes in the Moto2 category.

This decision to bring in Fernández as a substitute shows that Yamaha has confidence in his skills. And even though Yamaha is currently at the bottom of the constructors' standings, the team values Fernández’s input, as gathering technical data is crucial for development.

While Oliveira focuses on his rehabilitation, Fernández sets his sights on the upcoming weekend in Qatar. Will he manage a top-five finish with Yamaha in the MotoGP class? We’ll have to wait and see.