Maverick Viñales withdrew from the US MotoGP at COTA after Free Practice 1 when track medical checks found a surgical screw in his previously operated left shoulder had come loose. Tech3 said the displaced screw and ongoing pain forced his withdrawal; Viñales will return to Europe for a minor procedure, and AS reported the operation was scheduled for the week after the Austin round. He was 13th in FP1, nearly a second down on team‑mate Acosta, and had planned to use Friday practice to judge whether he could continue before deciding to withdraw.

The left‑shoulder problem dates to July 2025 and has been linked in reports to Sachsenring qualifying and to a crash at the Italian Grand Prix; Viñales underwent surgery in Italy after that summer injury. Since then he has reported loss of strength and difficulty changing direction, especially when turning left, and his performance has suffered — he completed only five of the final 13 grands prix in 2025, missed eight rounds between the summer incident and the Portuguese round, and has scored just three world championship points since the injury. He entered the season without points from the first two rounds amid reported KTM specification problems, and has been running a different KTM RC16 configuration while managing the shoulder. Over the winter he worked with coach Jorge Lorenzo and took part in a February Sepang test when he believed the shoulder had healed.

Tech3 says Viñales is targeting a return at Jerez (April 24–26). The postponement of the Qatar race gives him an additional recovery window before that weekend. Viñales said he is “worried about my future,” has not ruled out further surgery, and has previously avoided publicly detailing the injury for fear it could lead to being sidelined by KTM and affect his salary.

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