Neil Hodgson warns Jorge Martin he could face ‘nightmare’ if he does one thing while out injured

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The 2025 MotoGP season will finally get underway with the Thailand Grand Prix. But defending champion Jorge Martin will be a notable absentee.

Aprilia had been optimistic about their start to the 2025 season with Martin and Marco Bezzecchi on board. But that came crashing down after the former suffered a horrific fall on day one of the Sepang test.

The 27-year-old fractured his right hand and left foot, ending his pre-season before it really got underway. Aprilia had hoped he would be back and fully fit for the Thailand GP.

However, Martin suffered another fall in training during his recovery, fracturing his left hand. Doctors have discovered a ‘particularly troublesome’ issue as the fractures to his scaphoid could take a long time to heal with it having limited blood flow.

Martin wanted to prove himself on a motocross bike during his recovery when he had the fall. Aprilia will not be happy with this as they would have wanted the defending champion to take it easy before returning to MotoGP action.

Neil Hodgson tells Jorge Martin to heal properly or risk a ‘nightmare’ on his return

Martin is out of the Thailand GP, with his current timeline of recovery unknown. Lorenzo Savadori will replace the Spaniard until further notice.

Speaking on TNT Sports 1 on MotoGP’s Inside Line show after practice in Thailand, Neil Hodgson sent a warning to Martin for his recovery.

He has advised the 27-year-old to make sure his injury ‘heals properly’ or run the risk of having the ‘nightmare’ of more operations, delaying his comeback.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Jorge Martin from net worth to girlfriend

“He crashed straight away on day one of the first test, that ruled him out and then obviously this injury’s meant that he can’t do the opening round,” he said.

“So, he’s not been able to develop that bike for his style, so when he does come back, the bike’s going to feel very peculiar and it’s going to take him a while to bounce back.

“Do you know what? If I was him, if I was around him I’d be advising him to make sure it heels properly. I rushed mine back and then ended up having two operations. It turns into a nightmare.”

Jorge Martin could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines

Massimo Rivola has confirmed that Martin will also miss the Argentine Grand Prix on March 14-16. While there has been no confirmation about when the Spaniard will return, there are talks Martin could be out for three months.

This would effectively mean the end of his season and title defence. It would be almost impossible for Martin to step onto the Aprilia bike – which is still unknown to him – and extract performance out of it.

But Martin may have a ‘get out of jail free card’ at Aprilia. With his injuries, he will not be expected to fight for the title, taking the pressure off of the 27-year-old.

The Spaniard did not expect to win the championship this season anyway. Martin is targeting 2026 as the year he will compete for the top spot with Aprilia.