Marc Marquez undergoes double surgery after nasty French GP crash

Two surgeries in quick succession for Marquez, who is now heading home to continue rehabilitation

Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez underwent two successful operations on Sunday morning after flying back to Madrid during the French Grand Prix weekend.

The factory Ducati rider was forced to withdraw from the remainder of the Le Mans round after breaking his foot in a nasty highside in the sprint race.

Marquez returned to Spain on Saturday night before heading to a hospital in the morning for double surgery.

The first procedure addressed the fifth metatarsal on his right foot, which he broke when he hit the ground on the penultimate lap of the sprint.

The second operation was aimed at recovering two screws that had become dislodged from their positions when he was hit by Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi at last October’s Indonesian Grand Prix.

This corrective action had originally been scheduled for the week after the Catalan Grand Prix, with doctors having identified the issue after Marquez reported pain in the wake of a tough race at Jerez. However, he had not disclosed this planned surgery to the public prior to Saturday’s crash.

The nine-time world champion will now return home to continue his rehabilitation. He has already been ruled out from next week’s Barcelona race, and his participation in the Italian Grand Prix on 31 May remains subject to his recovery.

“Marc Marquez is currently recovering at the Ruber Internacional Hospital in Madrid, where he underwent successful double surgery this morning,” Ducati said in a statement.

“The medical team, led by Dr. Samuel Antuna alongside colleagues Dr. Ignacio Roger de Ona, Dr. Andres Maldonado, Dr. Jorge de las Heras, Dr. Raul Barco and Dr. Juan de Miguel, successfully stabilised the fracture in the fifth metatarsal of the rider’s right foot. This injury was sustained yesterday as a consequence of the highside crash in the final stages of the sprint race at the French Grand Prix.

Message of support for Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

“Simultaneously, Marquez underwent a second, pre-planned surgical procedure to fix a past injury in his right shoulder. This previous trauma had become painful again following the violent crash at last year’s Indonesian Grand Prix. The doctors removed two screws and a bone fragment from a previous Latarjet (December 2019) surgery that has shifted compressing the radial nerve.

“As previously announced, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider will not participate in next week's Catalan GP. He will remain in the hospital overnight and he will back home tomorrow to begin the rehabilitation. The progress over the upcoming weeks will determine the time for his return to competitions.”

Following his withdrawal from Sunday’s Le Mans race, Marquez has slipped to seventh in the standings, 71 behind championship leader Bezzecchi.