Marco Bezzecchi
MotoGP insiders suspect that Marc Marquez is now compromised by the numerous operations on his right arm and he will never recover his best form again as a result.
Marquez underwent yet another operation last weekend at the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid to solve a lingering issue with his right shoulder. The 33-year-old tried to keep the surgery a secret but he revealed his plans for the operation after breaking his foot in France.
The Ducati racer fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in the Sprint Race at Le Mans, when he had a huge highside at the penultimate corner on the penultimate lap. His need for surgery on his little toe gave Marquez a chance to bring forward the surgery on his shoulder.
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MotoGP insiders suspect that Marc Marquez will never return to his best in race conditions
Seven-time MotoGP champion Marquez had secretly been riding with discomfort in his right shoulder over the early rounds of the 2026 season. A screw from his Latarjet surgery in 2019 bent in his crash in the 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix, and it began to push on the radial nerve.
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Marquez could not ride naturally due to his shoulder injury, which only affected the Cervera native when in his riding position aboard a MotoGP bike. But while Marquez has confirmed that his operation “was a success”, MotoGP insiders suspect he will never be the same rider.
That is according to Gazzetta dello Sport, which reports that figures in the MotoGP paddock suspect that Marquez ‘will never be the champion he was’ before his injury in Indonesia last October. They fear that Marquez’s numerous surgeries on his right arm will prove too much.
Last Sunday’s surgery following Marquez’s huge highside in the Le Mans Sprint and all of the previous operations that he has required on his right arm have raised fears that the Spaniard will be ‘compromised’. Many also expect his problems will only continue in Grand Prix races.
Marquez set a new Le Mans lap record during qualifying for the French GP last Saturday to get out of Q1 despite the issues with his shoulder. But the screw in his shoulder pushing on the radial nerve had ensured he could not maintain a strong pace during races this season.
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The belief among some in the MotoGP paddock now is that ‘a lap is valuable, but the race is another matter’, and Marquez will have to prove upon his return from injury that he can get back to the levels he achieved before Marco Bezzecchi took him out in Indonesia in October.
Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP title with five rounds to spare, but then saw his season face an early finish when Bezzecchi collided with him in the Indonesian GP. It was a sorry end to a term that had seen Marquez win 11 of the 18 Grands Prix he entered after he joined Ducati.
Ducati will not replace Marquez at the Catalan Grand Prix this weekend while he recovers in the hope of returning for the Italian Grand Prix on May 29-31. Nicolo Bulega cannot replace Marquez in Barcelona or at Mugello due to clashes with the World Superbike Championship.
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