Marc Márquez hasn’t ridden a MotoGP motorcycle in competition since for the Italian Grand Prix in late May. It was announced later the same day that the eight-time world champion would take a leave of absence from the championship to have a fourth surgery on his injured right arm. His absence has certainly in this year’s FIM MotoGP World Championship and on the result sheet for his team, Repsol Honda. Márquez has now cleared a crucial hurdle on the road to a MotoGP return.

Marc Márquez initially broke his right arm during the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix. He had attempted to return to racing just days after his first surgery. Márquez damaged the plate inserted to hold his right humerus in place in the process. He was forced to go under the knife again and sit out the rest of the 2020 season. However, he got an infection, and his arm wasn’t able to heal correctly, and a third surgery during the off-season became necessary. Though, Márquez still didn’t gain full range of motion in his right arm and rode in pain throughout 2021 and early 2022.

Now, almost three months after his fourth surgery, by his medical team to start training on motorcycles to understand his right arm’s condition better.

Dr. Joaquin Sanchez Sotelo, one of the medical team’s three doctors:

“Today, I had the opportunity to evaluate Marc Márquez in regard to his surgical procedure recently performed at Mayo Clinic. Fortunately, Marc Marquez has regained a great arc of motion and has recovered well from a muscular perspective as well. Today, he underwent radiographs and a CT scan that show complete bone union.”

To describe in the simplest terms possible, the surgeon had to break his right humerus and realign the bone so it could heal properly.

Repsol Honda Team Manager Alberto Puig has seemed a bit desperate to get Marc Márquez on the Honda RC213V during next month’s test at Misano in Italy to help develop the team’s bike for the 2023 season.

“I personally think he won’t be there for the race, but if he can be there for the test, and even if it’s not to be doing a 100 laps a day test, but if he can do four outings to say ‘hey, no, or yes, it looks like this...’ it will be very important. If he’s not at the Misano test, it will be more of the same, because it will be a long time without Marc at the test. So, it will be complicated.”

The RCV213 is currently in need of improvement, to say the least. Honda currently at the bottom of the constructors’ standings. The factory Respol Honda Team and satellite LCR Honda Team are 9th and 10th out of the 12 teams in the teams’ standing. The last time a Honda finished in the top five positions of a Grand Prix was when Marc Márquez finished fourth at the Spanish Grand Prix on May 1st.