Marquez returns to motorcycle training in latest injury recovery step

After returning to the MotoGP paddock during the Austrian GP as a spectator, the six-time MotoGP world champion has been given the green light to intensify his training for his comeback.

Marquez will be allowed to add more weight and more varied exercise to his training, while also ride a motorcycle to assess the condition of his right arm.

It follows his latest recovery assessment carried out by doctors in coordination with the Mayo clinic in the United States where he had his operation in June.

“Today, I had the opportunity to evaluate Marc Marquez in regard to his surgical procedure recently performed at Mayo Clinic,” Dr Sanchez Sotelo said in a statement released by Honda.

“Fortunately, Marc Marquez has regained a great arc of motion and has recovered well from a muscular perspective as well. Today, he underwent radiographs and a CT scan that show complete bone union.”

Marquez underwent his fourth major operation on the right arm he badly broke in 2020, in a bid to regain full strength and mobility having ridden with discomfort and a weakened arm on his previous comebacks across 2021 and at the start of 2022.

While no definitive timeline has been given to Marquez’s comeback, both he and Honda are keen to ensure he’s fit for the end of the season so he can return to action when its focus switches to the 2023 MotoGP bike.

The latest update didn’t put a timeline on his possible return, but on his appearance during the Austrian GP last weekend he hoped to be back when “70%, 80%” fit. 

“I’m conscious about how important this rehabilitation is, and if I need to wait one more week I will wait,” Marquez said at the Red Bull Ring.

“It’s true that when I feel 70%, 80%, when I feel I can ride a MotoGP bike in a more or less good way I will come back because the last part of the rehabilitation, the best way is to be on the bike. You can’t wait to be 100% before riding a bike.”