DECEMBER 14, 2000

Fisichella to undergo knee operation

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA will undergo an operation on a knee injury next week, his Benetton-Renault team confirmed on Thursday.

Italian driver Fisichella has had physiotherapy on his right knee and was found to have a micro fracture of the tibiae. The problem requires arthroscopy intervention and the operation will take place on Monday, December 18, in Rome.

The 27-year-old driver will miss Benetton's test at Estoril, Portugal, next week but will be fit to take part in a pre-season training camp in Lanzarote, Spain, on January 2.

Specialists are unsure of the exact cause of the injury but have said that Fisichella's accidents in tests at the Italian circuit Monza and Spanish track in Valencia could have contributed to the problem.