The fallout of qualifying in Sepang is having serious consequences for Marc Marquez. The Repsol Honda rider had a huge highside during Q2, when he was trying to follow Fabio Quartararo.
It was plain to see that Marquez banged up his knees and ankles in the crash, but it now appears he also dislocated his right shoulder in the fall.
The injury was serious enough to warrant a full medical examination, and the possibility of surgery to fix the shoulder. At the Jerez test, Marc Marquez told Israeli journalist and TV commentator Tammy Gorali that he would be having his right shoulder examined in Barcelona on Wednesday.
The action was further prompted by Marquez’s crash at the Jerez test. On Monday, Marquez crashed in the final corner, and had to be taken to the medical center for further examination.
That crash came on top of a highside at Turn 13 during the Valencia test, which also saw him land on his shoulder.
Marc Marquez’s injury may also have necessitated a change of testing plan. At Valencia, Marquez shared testing duties on the 2020 Honda RC213V prototypes with Cal Crutchlow and Stefan Bradl.
At Jerez, the two remaining 2020 prototypes (less the one too badly damaged in Stefan Bradl’s crash) were parked in Marc Marquez’s garage, the work of assessing the bikes placed firmly on the reigning champion’s shoulders.
Marquez continued to ride after he was injured. The Spaniard finished second at Sepang, and then won the race at Valencia, despite the pain in his shoulder. He also rode in the Valencia test, and now also the Jerez test.
There is as yet no official confirmation of the medical schedule for Marc Marquez. That confirmation is expected to come soon.
Update
The Repsol Honda team have confirmed in a press release that Marc Marquez is to have surgery on this right shoulder to fix the problem. More details were announced: problems had started at Motegi, but the crash at Sepang had made the problem much worse when he dislocated his shoulder.
The crash at the Jerez dislocated the right shoulder once again, and though the issue with the shoulder is not as severe as with his left shoulder in 2018, Marquez elected to have surgery as soon as possible to try to avoid the shoulder getting worse in the future.
This means that Marquez faces another long winter of rehabilitation, of physio multiple times a day to recover from the surgery. It was something which Marquez had found hard in 2018 and 2019, and he faces the same process again through this winter.
Photo: Repsol Honda
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