Marc Marquez in race against time to be fit for MotoGP test

MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez has revealed he is finding his latest recovery from a shoulder injury ‘a little hard’ as he faces a race against time to be fit in time for the first official MotoGP test on February 7-9.

The Spaniard dislocated his right shoulder in a low-speed slip on wet asphalt during the final MotoGP test in Spain, though it came after he originally aggravated it in high-speed impacts in Thailand and Malaysia.

As such, the decision was taken for him to go under the knife at the earliest opportunity to give him enough time to recover before track action for Repsol Honda begins again on February 7^th.

Coming exactly a year after he had to undergo the same surgery on his left shoulder, Marquez had hoped he would be getting back to full fitness quicker this time around but reveals the recovery is proving similarly laborious.

“I would like the recovery to be better,” he said speaking at an awards ceremony recognising Catalan sports success.

“It's being quite difficult, a little hard. Last year I had surgery on my left shoulder and recovery was different. This time, it seemed easier, but it hasn't been that way.

“I hope we can get to the Malaysian tests, I hope so."

Could Marc Marquez miss the start of MotoGP testing?

Marquez is as wily off the track as he is on it, so his throwaway comment that he ‘hopes’ he will be in Sepang on February 7^th is probably a covert message intended to get rivals lathering at the prospect of him being on the back foot.

What could be more effective – and frustrating for rivals - than him defying injury to top the timesheets out of the box?

That said, Marquez may be feeling some concern for his fitness having now dealt both shoulders such a blow that they needed surgery.

Moreover, though the Spaniard was almost exemplary on race day in 2019, he still ended the year with the second-highest number of crashes during a race weekend.

In fact, no rider has crashed in MotoGP more than Marquez since 2013… an extraordinary statistic given his almost unbroken title success since then.

However, that ability to bounce back threatens to run out with each gnarly fall and this latest injury – whether it’s a genuine setback or not – could still play on his mind when action kicks off again…