MotoGP star Valentino Rossi's partner Novello pregnant with a baby girl

Valentino Rossi and Francesca Novello

Nine-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi will have his hands full in his impending retirement after he announced on Wednesday that he will become a father for the first time.

Nicknamed The Doctor, Rossi, 42, Instagrammed this picture of himself wearing a white medical gown and pressing a stethoscope against the stomach of pregnant partner Francesca Novello, to reveal the news.

"After a careful visit we can tell you that Franci is pregnant! We are expecting a girl," Rossi said. In August he had announced that he planned to retire at the end of this season after 26 years in motorcycle racing.

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