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Marc Marquez will miss next MotoGP race after second arm surgery

MotoGP Marc Marquez out

Repsol Honda Team’s Spanish rider Marc Marquez makes the victory sign on the sidelines of the Andalucia Grand Prix at the Jerez race track in Jerez de la Frontera on July 26, 2020. - Marquez will not start the Andalucia MotoGP in Jerez after dropping out of qualifying four days after an operation on a broken arm. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP) (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Defending MotoGP champion Marc Marquez is out of Sunday’s Czech Republic Grand Prix at the Automotodrom Brno circuit after surgery to repair a damaged titanium plate in his right arm.

Marquez underwent surgery Monday on the arm, which was fractured during a crash in the season opener July 19 at Jerez. The plate attached to his repaired right humerus became damaged because of stress accumulation.

The Repsol Honda Team announced in a release Tuesday that Stefan Bradl will ride the Honda RC213V with MotoGP rider Marc Marquez out at Brno. Bradl will be teamed with Alex Marquez, Marc’s younger brother.

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“After undergoing a second operation on his injured right arm, Marc Marquez and HRC have decided that the World Champion will not ride in the Czech Republic in order for him to recover more,” the Repsol Honda Team said in a release. “In his place, HRC test rider Stefan Bradl will mount the Honda RC213V. In 2019 the former Moto2 World Champion competed in four MotoGP races with a best finish of 10th at the German GP. Bradl has claimed three top ten finishes at Brno from his seven starts in the MotoGP class and only once missed out on points.”

Alex Marquez has finished in the top five of every start he has made as a GP rider at Brno since 2013.

Marc Marquez will remain in the hospital through at least Wednesday while recuperating from his second surgery. Dr. Xavier Mir, who performed the surgery Monday, said a timeline for recovery likely would be known by then.

“The rider has not felt pain during this period,” Mir said in a release Monday. “He has always followed the medical advice given and the feeling from his body. Unfortunately, an overstress has caused this issue. Now we have to wait 48 hours to understand the recovery time.”

Marc Marquez underwent an initial surgery July 21 in Barcelona, and doctors said there was no nerve damage.

The eight-time champion was cleared to race in the season’s second event at Jerez. But Marquez decided to skip the July 26 race after experiencing discomfort while riding the No. 93 bike in a July 25 practice.