Morbidelli has been advised by the doctors to refrain from taking part in any sporting activity for the next three weeks after undergoing further checks in Italy.
This means that he won’t be able to return to action until the first round of the season, which is scheduled at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar on 10 March.
Morbidelli’s participation in this weekend’s Sepang test has already been in doubt since it emerged that the Italian had suffered a major crash during training in Portugal at the end of January.
But the news on Tuesday revealed that his recovery will take much longer than previously expected, with the 29-year-old now also set to miss the second and final pre-season test of the year in Qatar later this month.
“Following the dramatic crash sustained during a private test in Portimao last week, Franco Morbidelli underwent further examinations by Prof. Franco Servadei (neurologist) and Dr. Roberto Donati,” his team Pramac said in a statement.
“Despite being in general good condition, the Prima Pramac Racing rider decided to undergo a thorough medical check before deciding whether to travel to Sepang or not.
“After the results of various exams, which indicated a good overall clinical picture, Prof. Franco Servadei recommended, as a precautionary measure, that Morbidelli should refrain from resuming sports activities for the next three weeks. Consequently, Franco will not be able to participate in the upcoming official test in Qatar (February 19-20).
“His return to the track is expected for the first MotoGP race of the 2024 season, scheduled at the Lusail International Circuit from March 8 to 10.”
Morbidelli was riding a Ducati Panigale V4 road bike in a privately organised two-day test at the Algarve circuit on 29-30 January when he suffered a very heavy crash at Turn 9.
Marc and Alex Marquez were the first to arrive on the scene and provided initial assistance to Morbidelli, who was reportedly unconscious at the time, before an ambulance was deployed to pick him up.
Following initial checks in the medical centre, he was transported to Faro Hospital where scans revealed that a small blot clot had formed in his head.
A second CT scan was conducted just a few days later to check the evolution of the clot, before Morbidelli was given the all-clear to return to his home in Italy.
The crash and the subsequent layoff have severely hampered his preparations for the 2024 MotoGP season, a crucial year for the Italian as he begins life at Ducati satellite Pramac after a long stint at Yamaha.
His team-mate and last year's runner-up Jorge Martin topped the opening day of the Sepang test on Tuesday.
Fernandez to miss remainder of Sepang test
Meanwhile, Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez will sit out the remaining two days of the Sepang test following a crash on Tuesday morning.
Fernandez suffered a fall at Turn 11 just 20 minutes into the start of the day’s running, with his Aprilia subsequently catching fire in the gravel run-off.
Although Fernandez was given all-clear to return to the track later after getting a check-up done in the medical centre, he ended the day 22nd on the timesheets with just 21 laps on the board.
In order to not risk an injury to his pelvis and hips, already bruised from the accident, the 23-year-old will fly back home in order to fully recover for the Qatar test on 19-20 February.
"First of all, I would like to say sorry to Aprilia and our Trackhouse Racing MotoGP Team," he said.
"This morning in my first laps I had a big crash because of the track conditions. Honestly, I didn't expect that coming. But because of that crash, I won't be able to continue this test here in Sepang.
"I feel really, really bad, because we won't have the chance to continue to understand the new bike better and to learn how it feels. For me, it's just going to be important now to recover well and to rest.
"To ride the bike like this is not safe for me, so I need to focus on my recovery and try to be at 100% in Qatar test in order to do all the work we planned to do here. Again, I want to say sorry to Aprilia and the team."
