Marc Marquez Delivers Open Letter To Fans Following Arm Surgery

The 29-year-old rider still has a long road to recovery, but he remains optimistic.

By: Dustin Wheelen

Jun 28, 2022 at 1:01pm ET

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Could this be the end for Marc Marquez? Will he ever ride the same again? Can the six-time MotoGP champ still win another title? Those questions swirled about the Grand Prix paddock when Marc Marquez bowed out of the 2022 MotoGP season for his fourth arm surgery.

A right humerus injury plagued the eight-time World Champion since his ill-fated crash at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix. The road to the 2022 season was full of setbacks, joyous victories, and a recurrent case of diplopia (double vision). Number 93 may have overcome the pre-season obstacles, but several violent crashes and struggles with Honda’s heavily-revised RC213V race machine pushed Marquez to his absolute limit.

By the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, the Repsol rider had to admit that his right arm still wasn’t 100 percent healed, forcing him to undergo surgery once more. This time, he would travel to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for the potentially career-saving procedure.

The 29-year-old rider showed positive progress in his first post-operative check-up, but Marquez is going a step further, putting his fans at ease with an open letter on his progress.

“My current feeling is one of hope,” proclaimed Marquez. “Because of the way I was riding and competing, I didn’t see myself as being on the bike for much longer—maybe another year or two.”

While announcing his mid-season surgery, Marquez admitted that he started compensating for the lack of strength in his right arm by relying more on his left arm. That, in turn, led to additional strain on Marquez’s left arm, prompting him to consider a fourth surgery. The Honda rider has shown signs of recovery thus far, but there’s still a long road ahead.

“I am waiting for an X-ray to be done in week six,” noted number 93. “Depending on how the result of this X-ray goes, we will choose the path for recovery. Until then I’m enjoying a bit of a vacation, because we can’t start recovery 100 percent yet.”

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The Spanish rider remains optimistic, however. He even looks to fellow compatriot and tennis great Rafael Nadal for inspiration.

“There is also a point of reference in Rafa Nadal, who even when people thought he was done has been able to overcome the pain and win again,” added Marquez. “I know all that he has suffered and that is why he is a point of reference for me, because although he is not at his best, he is capable of winning tournaments like Roland Garros.”