Honda MotoGP team boss Alberto Puig says Marc Marquez’s second surgery was required due to a “domestic accident”, and insisted Marquez wouldn’t have tried to ride in the second Jerez race if doctors had foreseen that the plate in his arm could break.
Marquez will miss this weekend’s Czech Grand Prix at Brno having undergone a second operation in two weeks so the titanium plate originally installed in his arm after his Jerez crash could be replaced.
The surgery was performed on Tuesday in Barcelona, and is expected to rule him out of the following two races at the Red Bull Ring too.
Speaking ahead of the Brno race, Puig explained that a bizarre accident while Marquez was recuperating at home on Monday morning led to the surgery – and insisted his attempt to contest the second Jerez event was not to blame.
“A domestic accident in his house while opening a very big window – like a big door – created a big pain in his arm,” Puig explained, “and consequently it broke the plate.
“This probably happened due to the stresses of all this time, but it is clear that it happened after the grand prix.
“In any case, Marc always tried to follow his doctor’s indications and the feeling of his body and he went to Jerez with the consensus of all his doctors.”
Marc’s brother Alex Marquez, who is his team-mate at Repsol Honda and lives with the six-time MotoGP champion, relayed his recollection of the events of Monday morning.
“It was 7.30 in the morning, he woke up a little bit earlier than me, I was sleeping, I was on my bed and he woke me up already with the arm broken,” the younger Marquez said.
“He was only trying to go with the dogs, to walk a little bit and to have some relaxation, and he opened like a big door-window, broke the arm. He woke me up and also the physio that was at home for the recovery and then from that they called Emilio [Alzamora, manager], they called [Dr. Xavier] Mir, and then they went directly to the hospital.
“Was a little bit like a strange situation, but it can happen.”
While Marquez may have been following doctors’ orders, Puig also implied the medics responsible for both Marquez’s post-crash treatment and subsequent surgeries hadn’t provided the full facts of the situation.
“The doctors didn’t expect that this plate could be broken, and that’s what they told and informed the rider and also the team,” said Puig.
“In the case they had informed [us of] this, Marc would never have tried [to ride] and Honda would never have let him ride the bike.
“In any case, things happen and it has happened.
“The fortunate thing is that it happened in his house and not at Brno or in Austria, because that could have had massive consequences for him.”
Puig also seemed to confirm rumours that Marquez will now sit out at least three more races while he recovers, despite initially rushing back into action only days after his initial surgery. His 2020 title defence now looks all but impossible.
“From now on he will keep going with his process of rehabilitation and the healing of his bone, and time will tell how he is evolving after this incident,” he said.
