Daniel Juncadella has broken his collarbone after a mountain biking accident, but the Mercedes DTM driver is still expected to take part in pre-season testing at Hockenheimring next week.
The Spaniard has already undergone an operation and will begin his recovery, with a return to full fitness expected before the season commences at the same venue on 04-06 May.
“I’ll take it easy to begin with, and I’ll also have my doctor there,” said Juncadella to Autosport.
“The decisive factor will be how I feel in the car – including checking to see if, for example, the seat belts are pressing too hard on my collarbone or on the scar. But I’m optimistic we can cope.
“In the week after the test, the stitches will be removed, and I’m convinced that I’ll get fit enough to start the season.
Juncadella had feared the incident would rule him out for the 2018 season, but the swift attention to his injury has eased concerns.
“I wasn’t going fast at the time, but I took a tumble,” he said.
“It seemed like only a minor mishap, so I just rode on.
“When I got back from the outing I realised my collarbone wasn’t in the right place – that came as a shock.
“It was strange because up to then I hadn’t felt any pain. My only thought was, ‘Oh man, maybe the season is already over for me’, but luckily it wasn’t that bad, and 48 hours later I was doing as well as can be expected in the circumstances.
“Of course this is not the ideal start to the season, but luckily it was attended to very quickly and there were no complications.”