Marc Marquez makes shoulder surgery revelation after Le Mans MotoGP crash

Marc Marquez has revealed he was scheduled to have surgery after the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix prior to suffering a foot fracture in a crash in the French Grand Prix sprint.

The reigning world champion suffered a fracture to his right foot in a heavy crash on Saturday on the penultimate lap of the Le Mans sprint.

He will miss Sunday’s French Grand Prix and next week’s Catalan Grand Prix to undergo surgery on his foot this week.

However, Marc Marquez has now revealed that he was scheduled to have surgery on the shoulder he injured last October due to a damaged screw touching his nerve after the Catalan round.

Speaking to Spain’s DAZN, Marquez says this has been the cause of his riding troubles in 2026. He will have surgery on his shoulder at the same time as his foot.

“That was one of the reasons I was taking it easy,” he said.

“I knew I could crash at any moment. I already had surgery scheduled for after Catalunya, on my right shoulder.

“After Jerez, I realised something wasn’t right.

“We went to see the doctors, and they found that everything was fine, but that the infamous broken screw—the one in the lateral ligament—was in a different position.

“It was a very strange feeling, because at home I felt fine, but when I came here, it prevented me from riding, because it was touching the radial nerve.

“That’s what causes me to make mistakes, be inconsistent, and have unexpected crashes.

“That’s why I was so calm. We’ll do it all at once.

“The shoulder procedure is simply opening it up and removing that screw. The recovery time should be short.”

Marquez suggests the mistake he made in the sprint was a result of the nerve issue, which wasn’t evident during his motocross training.

“My head is in the right place, but I can’t be consistent because, when there’s a problem with the nerve, it fails when you least expect it,” he added.

“I made a mistake yesterday, and today, in the race, I made another one.

“It was very strange because with the position on the motocross bike, nothing happened.”

Speaking to Sky Italy, Marquez added: "I hadn't said anything, but we had already scheduled a surgery on the shoulder after the Catalan GP. 

"At Jerez I realised something was wrong and the doctors saw that after the crash in Indonesia everything is fine, but the screw that had broken is in a slightly different position. It's only one-two millimeters, but it touches the radial nerve."

It's not the first time Marquez has concealed injury issues from the media. In 2018, a recurring shoulder dislocation injury wasn't discovered until his title celebrations that year.

And in 2022, he kept the problems he'd been having with his right arm under wraps until a fourth major surgery was given the green light during the Italian Grand Prix weekend. 

Marquez is currently fifth in the standings, having scored two sprint wins this season. He is 51 points down on the championship lead.