Marc Marquez breaks silence on COTA absence - and shows injury rehab
A hand injury which required surgery caused the Repsol Honda rider to miss the second round in Argentina, and now COTA too.
It is a damaging blow to his MotoGP championship hopes already - but also a setback to his fitness.
Marquez arrived into 2023 hoping that the major arm and double-vision problems which have plagued him for two years were largely in his past.
A serious operation last summer saved his career and allowed to ride pain-free for the first time since early-2020.
But, just three grand prix laps into 2023, he crashed into the back of Miguel Oliveira causing injuries to both men.
Oliveira returns in COTA but the fragility of Marquez’s injury means he misses out.
Oscar Haro, the ex-LCR sporting director, claims the delicate nature of the hand injury means that, if the same bone breaks again, it would sideline Marquez for four months.
Marquez has posted a series of images to his social media detailing how he is rehabbing his latest injury with the caption: "Step by step".
He hopes to make a return in Jerez, at the fourth round of the championship, and ironically the scene of his most notorious crash which caused his serious arm injury.
Honda's appeal about his double long lap penalty has a "stay of execution", the MotoGP Court of Appeal has ruled. A final decision is yet to be made.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
