Marc Marquez’s fourth surgery on his right humerus has been deemed a success by doctors that carried out the procedure at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota on Thursday.
The Honda MotoGP ace flew over to the USA on Tuesday after the Italian Grand Prix to undergo a rotational humeral osteotomy, an operation needed to rotate Marquez’s humerus bone in his right arm by 30 degrees after it healed incorrectly.
The result of this was that the six-time premier class world champion found himself unable to use his natural riding style as a result of not being to move his arm naturally, Marquez admitting at Mugello that without the procedure his career would likely have to come to an end within the next year or two.
Honda released a statement on Friday morning to confirm that its star pilot’s surgery had gone to plan as he now looks to get fully fit so that he can ride once again with his unique style once he returns to MotoGP competition, which could be put back to 2023 depending on his recovery.
Dr Sanchez Sotelo, Chair of the Division of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery at the Mayo Clinic, revealed the operation took around three hours and culminated in a “satisfactory” result, Marquez now set to remain in the USA for the next few days under precautionary observation before he returns to Spain to continue his recovery plan.
“Today we had the opportunity to operate on the right humerus of Mr. Marc Marquez, the procedure was completed in approximately three hours,” said Sotelo.
Despite the complexity of the procedure, the final outcome was satisfactory.
“Surgery consisted in removing the proximal two screws of the posterior plate previously placed by Dr. Samuel Antuña on December of 2020, followed by a rotational humeral osteotomy.
“Such procedure involves creating a transverse cut of the humeral bone to rotate the humerus along its long axis.
“The amount of rotation performed today was approximately 30 degrees of external rotation. The humerus was stabilized in the new position using an anterior plate with multiple screws.
“Surgery was completed uneventfully. We would like to wish Mr. Marquez a swift recovery and a successful return to his professional career.”
Honda test rider will replace Marquez in this weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, and although the German hasn’t been confirmed beyond the Spanish event it is likely he will fill in for Marquez until he returns.
