Bird was found to have broken his hand after an incident in Free Practice 1 at the 2024 Monaco E-Prix, which saw the Brit lock up and hit the wall in the run-off area at Turn 1, Sainte Devote.
NEOM McLaren confirmed the injury in a statement after the session, once Bird had been examined and sent to hospital for further checks.
The Brit underwent a successful procedure to rectify the injury to the same hand he'd injured back in July 2022 during the London E-Prix. He was on-site in both Monaco and Berlin to support and advise Barnard, with the youngster calling out the positive impact Bird had on his Formula E debut weekends.
Bird will return to the #8 McLaren as Formula E heads to Shanghai for the very first time.
Super sub
Taylor Barnard jumped into the cockpit following Bird's injury, seeing out the Monaco E-Prix weekend and impressing team boss Ian James along the way.
The 19-year-old went one better in Berlin with two points scoring finishes with 10th and eighth to set another record as the youngest points-scorer in Formula E.
The youngster will continue in his role as the team's Reserve and Development Driver, dovetailing that work with an ongoing FIA Formula 2 campaign.