Marc Marquez’s physiotherapist says “orders” were made to have all of his bikes dismantled so he didn’t get tempted to ride during his shoulder surgery recovery period.
The reigning MotoGP world champion has revealed further details on his winter recovery programme following last week’s first comeback on a bike, a Honda NSF100 mini bike, after almost two months on from his surgery.
Marquez concedes he won’t know the full state of his fitness with his shoulder until he gets back on his Repsol Honda MotoGP machine at the Sepang official test (February 6-8) but is still suffering with discomfort post-operation.
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With physiotherapist Carlos J. Garcia overseeing his rehabilitation, Marquez was banned from any riding over the winter in order to be fit for the Sepang test.
“There were orders for all the bikes to be dismantled,” Garcia said in a Repsol Honda release. “When we went to the gym and we passed by some bikes and he climbed onto one, assumed the riding position and made noises as if he were on track. That’s how much he wants to get on a bike again.”
“Until I get on the MotoGP bike, I won’t know what shape I’m in,” Marquez conceded. “I am aware that it will be quality over quantity in terms of the amount of laps I do.
“More than anything, that’s to avoid causing tendonitis or similar. I am also aware that if in the test I can’t put in the laps that I would like, it is only a test. We will all leave Malaysia with zero points.
“I have to be prudent and not throw away the hours I’ve spent recovering, the two months I’ve been recovering and been patient.”
Marquez went under the knife just days after the post-season tests at Valencia and Jerez to repair his left shoulder having suffered dislocations during the 2018 MotoGP campaign.
While he’s confident his shoulder already feels better now than at any time last year, Marquez admits the rehabilitation work has been tough with a total of five hours of training every day except four days over Christmas.
“When I woke up, it hurt,” he said. “It’s difficult, the physio. I haven’t skipped a day, we started December 11th and we didn’t train on the 24th, 25th, 31st or 1st.
“These last few weeks are when it has hurt the most because everything is already set. The hardest thing is the psychological side, I’ve done this since December 11th for two and a half hours in the morning and two and a half hours in the afternoon.”
Después de un largo invierno con 79 sesiones y 217 horas de recuperación, llega el momento de probarme en el primer Test de Sepang!
After a winter with 79 sessions and 217 hours of recovery, time to try myself in the first Test in Sepang!
Full video: https://t.co/9GsMHOBQit pic.twitter.com/vyYO0nBwn6— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) February 5, 2019
Marquez has flown to Sepang ahead of the first official test where he will be joined by Honda test rider Stefan Bradl as new team-mate Jorge Lorenzo is ruled out with a left scaphoid injury. Bradl was also in action at last weekend’s Sepang Shakedown test.
The test will also mark a comeback for LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow as he returns his his serious broken ankle and leg suffered during practice at Phillip Island for the Australian MotoGP last October.
