will not compete in the upcoming opening rounds of MotoGP in Qatar. His medical team him to refrain from competition for the sake of his full recovery in the wake of he suffered at the Spanish Grand Prix in July 2020. is heeding their advice.

The season openers are for March 28 and April 4 in Qatar. Marquez, however, is scheduled to return to his medical team on April 12 for another checkup. The team has been monitoring his recovery after fractured his right humerus — the upper arm bone — and eventually needed a bone graft and plate-and-bolt surgery.

His checkup precludes his competing in any major races before April 12. The MotoGP champ announced the news on his , sharing the following caption:

After the last check-up with the medical team, they have advised me not to participate in the two Qatar races so we will continue with the recovery to return to compete as soon as possible!

It’s sad news for his fans who awaited the champion’s return as MotoGP kicked off, but Marquez assured them this deferral is in the interest of a full recovery and safe return to competition. Marquez is undaunted; he plans to return ASAP.

The operative word in the phrase ASAP being “possible” rather than “soon.” Better to be careful with these recoveries and not rush things. A gradual but steady process is best here. The has already required three surgeries, and it would be unfortunate, having gone through so much pain and effort, to rush back on track and risk reinjuring the arm.

Big Red has assured the champion they are fully behind a thorough recovery and do not want to rush Marquez to the circuit. Ultimately, that would help neither party. Honda even reportedly went as far as to reject Marquez’s request that the company take back his salary for 2020, according to .

The Spanish sports daily that Marquez asked Honda to take back his pay for that year. I would imagine Marquez did so because he was unable to race much at all that season following his . But Honda reportedly refused to accept and asked the 28-year old champ to keep the money. Marquez’s salary has been neither officially nor publicly disclosed but it’s to start around $17 million. Talk about mutual respect!

With a team that supportive, we can only hope to see the champ back in the saddle soon.