SATURDAY UPDATE: Despite being cleared to return from his injury, Marc Marquez won’t be racing Sunday, his Repsol Honda Team says (click to read story)
The manager for the MotoGP team of Marc Marquez said Wednesday he “isn’t counting the days” for the eight-time champion’s return from injury.
Marquez underwent successful surgery Tuesday on a fractured right arm that he suffered in a crash in the season opener Sunday. Repsol Honda Team manager Alberto Puig said it was “very important” that doctors found no damage to the radial nerve while attaching a titanium plate to the right humerus.
That has prompted some reports that Marquez could return as early as the next race this Sunday in Jerez, Spain. Team officials have indicated they hope Marc Marquez can return for the Aug. 9 MotoGP grand prix in the Czech Republic, but Puig said the team is prioritizing Marquez’s long-term health over a timetable for his comeback from the injury.
“At this moment, we are not thinking in the timings,” Puig said in an interview (watch the video above). “We have a long relation and a long period to be together with Marc, and what we want is the safety of the rider first. We want him to be strong and fit to secure the next years coming and he can be ready to race at his maximum level.
“Marc will try to come back as soon as possible but from our point of view, from our mentality, we have a lot of respect for this guy, for all of our riders, but in particular, we want that Marc understands his healing is very important for us and for him. And that’s why we’re not going to be counting the days to see when he’s coming back.”
Sunday: Break arm
— MotoGP on BT Sport (@btsportmotogp) July 22, 2020
Monday: Fly to Barcelona
Tuesday: Surgery
...
Friday: Back to racing?!
Marc Márquez COULD be back for the #AndaluciaGP this weekend 🤯🤯🤯
We wouldn’t put it past him... pic.twitter.com/8v3BIoqlPw
If he can’t race Sunday, the injury will cause Marc Marquez to miss his first MotoGP premier series race after winning six of the past seven championships since entering the circuit in 2013.
“Frankly speaking, I don’t think the guys in the lead can be really proud or happy of winning a title without having the best rider of the world participating in it,” Puig said. “It’s a championship that will not be the same if Marc is not racing for the championship, and I think everybody knows.”