Mixed messages after Alonso's back injury

Nov.5 (GMM) Mixed messages are emerging from the Ferrari camp, after Fernando Alonso's violent bump over the kerbs in Abu Dhabi.

After the incident, which took place as the Spaniard exited the pits and duelled with Jean-Eric Vergne, Alonso "wore his cap backwards" and attended to his media duties "without any problem".

"All good," added the correspondent for the Spanish sports newspaper, Manuel Franco.

But the bump over the kerbs had triggered the FIA impact alarm aboard Alonso's Ferrari, requiring him to report for a medical checkup.

Auto Motor und Sport, however, said the impact only tipped the scales above the 15G trigger because the sensor was improperly attached to the car.

Indeed, a Ferrari spokesman said the checkup was a mere "precaution", adding afterwards that Alonso is "fine".

"The doctors gave the all-clear," said German correspondent Michael Schmidt.

But Alonso's manager, Luis Garcia Abad, then alarmed the driver's millions of fans by tweeting a photo of the 32-year-old in hospital, attached to a spinal board and covered with a space blanket.

Then, on Monday, Alonso told his 1.9 million fans via Twitter: "The night was so-so. I will do more tests this afternoon and try to be 100 per cent as soon as possible."

Before leaving Abu Dhabi, he said he would "hopefully" be fit for Austin in two weeks.

But after Monday's follow-up checks for Alonso, which reportedly took place in Spain, a Ferrari spokesman told the BBC: "He's ok, just some pain and nothing more.

"The checkup was fine," he added.

Alonso's manager Abad, however, refused to say if the driver - whose relationship with Ferrari this year has been the subject of high speculation - will be fit for Austin.

"We are not talking about Austin," he said.

"We need to check everything's ok. It is nothing more than normal control of the situation," Abad added.