Reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez had to undergo a second operation on his broken arm earlier this week because of an accident caused “by opening a window” at his home, Honda team manager Alberto Puig said on Thursday.
The Spaniard
fractured his arm in the season opener in Spain on July 19 and missed the
following race despite initially being declared fit to take part, just 48 hours
after having a titanium plate inserted during surgery.
After the second
operation on Monday, doctor Xavier Mir said that “an accumulation of stress in
the operated area has caused the plate to suffer some damage, so the titanium
plate has been removed and replaced by a new fixation.”
On Thursday, Puig
explained that the damage had not occurred when Marquez rode in the practice
sessions at the second race in Jerez.
“It was a domestic
accident in his house opening a very big window,” Puig said.
“Well not a very
big window, like a very big door, created a big pain that consequently broke
the plate.”
“It’s probably
because of the stress caused at that time that it happened but it’s clear it
happened after the Grand Prix,” said Puig from Brno ahead of the Czech Grand
Prix this weekend.
“Marc went to Jerez
with the consensus of all doctors. Doctors didn’t expect that this plate could
break. In case they had informed this, Marc would have never tried, the team
would have never let him try the bike.
“From now on Marc
will keep going with his process of rehabilitation, healing of the bone and
time will let when he is ready.
“Marc is very
strong mentally and physically so he will take it as it is and when it’s
possible he will be back.”
Meanwhile, veteran
racer Valentino Rossi said he had some sympathy with Marquez having fallen foul
of an accident himself at home a decade ago.
“In 2009, before
the first test in Malaysia, I was at home but I crashed on a glass table,” said
seven-time MotoGP world champion Rossi at a news conference in Brno.
“The glass table
exploded and I had to put stitches on my finger and under my foot so it was
very painful. At home you have to keep attention. Sometimes it’s dangerous.”