Marco Bezzecchi
Pending a check from the trackside medical team on Thursday, Marc Marquez is set to make a return to MotoGP at the upcoming Italian Grand Prix.
If the reigning world champion is cleared for a return to action at Mugello, his appearance out on track on Friday would come just 18 days after he suffered a brutal highside during the Le Mans Sprint race that left him with a fractured foot.
How do you expect Marc Marquez to fare if he returns at the Italian GP?
In the aftermath of the incident, Marquez revealed that he had already planned to undergo surgery on his troublesome right shoulder following the conclusion of the Catalan Grand Prix. He was subsequently forced to undergo another procedure on his foot.
The Spaniard’s fitness has been under much scrutiny since he suffered an injury to his right shoulder at last year’s Indonesian GP. He has since been a shell of his former self in the Grand Prix format upon his return to action, which indicated that he still wasn’t at peak fitness.
During the Spanish Grand Prix, the factory Ducati rider was on course for a season-best P2 before he lost the front and crashed out of the race, which marked another heavy crash for the 33-year-old in 2026.
After being asked if he was feeling the pressure of remaining on the bike following a plethora of offs, Marquez asserted that he doesn’t have ‘anything to prove’ in MotoGP anymore.
Marc Marquez says he doesn’t have anything left to prove, so why is he returning so early?
Upon confirmation that the Spaniard would be missing the last round of racing at Barcelona, several figures within the MotoGP paddock expressed their opinion that Marquez should take every precaution necessary before returning to action.
He went through a highly publicised injury nightmare during the first few years of the current decade – one that Marquez didn’t think he would be able to make it out of. His world-beating form in 2025 proved that he was still the best rider on the grid by a long shot.
Will Marc Marquez ever win over Italian MotoGP fans?
With the ordeal that he went through during those final years at Honda, it begs the question of why the seven-time MotoGP world champion would want to risk going through it all over again in a season that could already be considered as written off for him.
Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi currently holds an 85-point lead over him in the standings, and even though you can never write Marquez off, any sort of championship challenge would be a mammoth task for him.
What’s more, the Italian Grand Prix hosts one of the most physically demanding circuits on the calendar. Bikes reach upwards of 360km/h on the main straight, so any lack of commitment, whether it is mental or physical, could prove disastrous for him.
Of course, Marquez is hoping to defend his title this year for the first time since 2019, but he could be risking everything just for the slightest chance of that becoming a reality.
- READ MORE: Marc Marquez can make Aprilia forget about the 2026 title if he does one thing on return at Mugello
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
