Puig reveals why Marquez needed second op… and it’s not what you think

HRC boss Alberto Puig has revealed Marc Marquez damaged the plate in his arm ‘opening a window’, forcing him to undergo a second surgery that rules him out of at least this weekend’s Czech Republic MotoGP in Brno and possibly the following events in Austria.

The defending MotoGP champion is recovering after fracturing his arm in an accident during the season opening Spanish MotoGP. Undergoing a first surgery in the short break between rounds one and two, Marquez attempted a return to action just three days later before withdrawing again. 

With his title hopes already damaged by the enforced break, his chances of recovering ground have been hampered further when it emerged he needed a second op to fix a plate that had been damaged.

While speculation was rife that Marquez’s premature training and riding was to blame, Puig has sought to dismiss the notion that Honda allowed him to return to early by saying the damage occurred doing something as innocuous as opening a window.

“It was a domestic accident this time because he was trying to open a window and he suddenly felt a lot of pain," Puig revealed ahead of the Czech Republic MotoGP. "Later we could check that the plate was broken.

Somewhat pointedly though, Puig appears to lay the blame at the doctors for not informing him the plate could break in that way, saying he wouldn’t have allowed Marquez to race had that been the case.

"This was probably caused after all the stress that he had in the arm. But we went to Jerez because the doctors gave the okay to do it and they never informed us that the plate could have broken.

"If we had this info probably, he would not have gone to Jerez or Honda would not have given him the chance to ride."

“Racing is a dangerous sport, but this thing didn’t happen in Jerez. It happened in his house. So if you look at it this way, no [he didn't take too much of a risk riding at Jerez].

"But it's true that when you have surgery and you stress some of the injured parts, clearly it's more stressful than doing nothing. But a professional sportsman is paid to perform and that's what he tried.

"The positive point is that it happened in his house and not at Brno on Austria on the bike, which could have had massive consequences if he had another crash. From now on we will have to keep checking the development of his fracture and only time will tell when he can return."

For now, Marquez’s absence in Brno means he stands to lose more ground to his burgeoning title rivals, headed up by Fabio Quartararo, who has amassed 50 points from the opening two rounds.

It is thought Marquez is considering skipping the following two events in Austria too in order to make a full recovery, which would leave him with zero points heading into a proposed sixth round return.