Ducati duo face ‘survival’ end to 2026 MotoGP season as more surgery looms

Gresini Ducati MotoGP team-mates Fermin Aldeguer and Alex Marquez say they will need more surgery this winter for existing injuries.

Alex Marquez suffered multiple fractures in a frightening crash at the Catalan Grand Prix in May, which left him sidelined until the Brno round in mid-June.

While the Gresini rider has performed strongly since his return, bagging two sprint podiums and three top five finishes from the last four grands prix, he admitted on Thursday at the San Marino Grand Prix that he still faces limitations in his shoulders.

He is due to have surgery in December to have metalwork removed, but says until then he will have to “survive” to the end of the 2026 season.

“In December I will take out the plate, and everything will be, in theory, on paper, fit and ready for the next season,” he told the media at Misano.

“But here until the end [of the season], I will need to survive with the problems that I have.

“But it’s true that it’s not problems that limit my capacities.

“It’s true that on Sunday [at Aragon] I arrived a little bit more on the limit with the muscles and the power and all that.

“But it’s not a big problem. So, I need to survive, and after the test in Valencia I will take the surgery.”

Marquez added that the Misano/Red Bull Ring double-header will be the next test for his physical fitness, after which he will gain a better understanding of his recovery.

“This will be my first test to have back-to-back races, here and in Austria,” he said.

“[These are] circuits with a lot of braking points that will be tough for my shoulders.

“So, after here we will see better my reality, or how I can approach the end of the season.

“But in the end, it’s something that I need to survive.

“Also, I think in a month and a half, it will be a little bit better, and my body will adapt better to that problem.

“But it’s not a problem, as I said, that limits my capacity. It’s a problem that on Sunday that I arrive a little bit more tired and a little bit less capacity on the shoulders.

“So, it’s under control and it’s something I want to try to forget about and win a race between now and the end of the season.”

Marquez’s team-mate Fermin Aldeguer missed the early races of 2026 due to a broken femur, before injuring his back in a crash at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The problems with his back have led to Aldeguer suffering more pain in his leg, which will be improved by surgery in the off-season.

“I think this season is impossible [to be 100% fit].

“Maybe this winter, after when I do the surgery to take out all of the metal.

“With this, the doctor said to me that 90% of the pain will go away.

“I’m waiting. I want to finish this season in a good way, but I also want to be in December to take out all of the metal. It’s the only option. It’s like this.”