Blow for Marc Marquez as he's forced to undergo second operation

Marc Marquez road to recovery has suffered a further bump after he was forced to go under the knife for a second time to fix a damaged titanium plate in his fractured arm.

The plate was inserted during surgery in the wake of his accident in the 2020 MotoGP season opening Spanish MotoGP race, but has since become damaged due to ‘stress accumulation’.

As a result, he has returned to Barcelona to be operated on again, a visit that will require a 48-hour stay just days before he was set to return to the Repsol Honda for this weekend’s Czech Republic MotoGP in Brno.

“Marc Marquez underwent surgery 13 days ago and today he returned to the operating room,” said Dr Xavier Mir of the Hospital Universitari Dexeus. 

“The first operation was successful, what was not expected was that the plate was insufficient. An accumulation of stress in the operated area has caused the plate to suffer some damage, so today the titanium plate has been removed and replaced by a new fixation. 

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

The news comes after Marquez attempted a return shortly after the first surgery, only to withdraw after qualifying.

It isn’t known whether Marquez will be able to race as planned in the upcoming Brno event as he looks to make headway on Fabio Quartararo’s 50-point advantage following the opening two rounds of the season.