Valentino Rossi deciding on German Grand Prix

Valentino Rossi will undergo a series of x-rays on Wednesday before making a decision on his involvement in this weekend's German grand prix.

The Fiat Yamaha rider was back in action today at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic as he stepped up his recovery from a compound leg fracture with another outing on a YZF-R1 machine provided by the Yamaha World Superbike team.

The 31-year-old suffered the injury five weeks ago in a huge highside during practice for the Italian grand prix at Mugello but defied medical opinion to return to action in a test at Misano last week.

The seven-times MotoGP world champion had been expected to be on the sidelines for three or four months.

The Italian admitted he was still in pain after that initial test but was cautiously upbeat after today's outing, during which he completed 46 laps.

"Today was good, I felt better than in Misano but I still feel quite tired after a few laps and a race will be a much bigger question," said Rossi.

"We haven't made the final decision yet, I need to have some more x-rays on Wednesday and then my doctors and I will consider whether I can ride at Sachsenring. Once I'd understood my physical condition today, I had great fun riding the R1 and even did some work on the settings."

The speed with which Rossi is threatening to return to competitive action has come as a surprise to many observers, particularly as his title aspirations for this year have already been all but ended by his absence from the last four rounds.

Yamaha confirmed the rider was under no pressure to return until he has made a full recovery. "Yamaha awaits Valentino's final personal decision as to when he feels ready to ride again." the team said. "Yamaha's priority is a full recovery to fitness for Valentino rather than a quick comeback."

Wataru Yoshikawa, who stood in for Rossi at the last round in Catalunya, is on stand-by for this weekend's race and will travel to Germany.

Should Rossi declare himself fit after Wednesday's examination, his participation at Sachsenring will then rest on the final approval of the chief medical officer.