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Shoulder injury not an issue, says Webber

Mark Webber had an injection before the start of the Japanese Grand Prix © Getty Images

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Mark Webber has revealed that he didn't tell his team about the shoulder injury he carried during the final four races of the season because it was not troubling him all that much.

Webber revealed in his book reviewing the 2010 season, Up Front: A Season to Remember, that he sustained a fracture of the shoulder during a mountain bike accident after the Singapore Grand Prix, but that he kept the information from team-boss Christian Horner.

Horner recently reacted to the news by saying that he was 'disappointed' Webber chose to keep the injury a secret.

"I was very confident it wouldn't affect my performance in the car, which is why I didn't tell anyone," Webber told his official website. "The shoulder wasn't causing me a problem, so there was no need to talk about it to anyone. If I'd had any issues with it in the car, then of course I would have told the team. But that wasn't the case. I've never missed a Grand Prix but of course if I couldn't drive the car a) safely and b) on the limit, I would have notified the team."

Webber also revealed that he had a pain-killing injection before the start of the Japanese Grand Prix as a precaution for any discomfort.

"The injection was an absolute precaution. It was the first time I was going to do more than 50 racing laps, plus qualifying that morning, so I took what was the best medical advice for race day. Many people will be aware that shoulder injuries can be complex but I was lucky this mishap didn't affect my main line of work. In that sense, that was the most important thing to me.

"Some people have asked whether the shoulder was the reason I didn't do the Abu Dhabi tyre test in November, but it had nothing to do with it. I was never down to do that test."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.