Johann Zarco outlines knee surgery plan “to grow old in a good way”

Johann Zarco says he will eventually need surgery on his injured knee, but not until his MotoGP career is over so he can “grow old in a good way”.

The double grand prix winner suffered a serious knee injury in a horrifying crash at the Catalan Grand Prix in May.

He missed six races while he recovered, though he didn’t require urgent surgery on his knee as initially thought.

Since returning at Aragon, Johann Zarco has scored points in two of the last three races.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, the 36-year-old says he has been able to do more running on his knee, but acknowledged that it will eventually need surgery.

“For motorbike, the leg is going pretty well,” he said.

“Still, I need to be careful on the activities I'm doing because I can't have, and I won't have, the stability of a normal knee with all the ligaments.

“But things are still improving because I've been hiking in the mountains last week, and this gave me a bit more confidence on the knee; I can even start now to just run from one door to another door, which I was not able even to run before.

“So, the knee is getting better, but this is good steps for normal life, but for motorbikes, already in Misano or Austria, just the fact to bend the knee well is enough to feel good.”

Asked if he will need surgery in the off-season, he replied: “Not for the winter break, but at the end of my racing career, yes, because my meniscus is not in the right place and I can [develop] arthrosis.

“So it's not in a hurry, but if I want to grow old in a good way, the surgery will be necessary.”

Zarco added that his training regime has had to change, placing a greater emphasis on gym work after he was forced to give up playing padel.

“It's not complicated because the main things, if you want to work for the cardio, you have the bicycle, which is tough,” he explained.

“I was enjoying padel a lot, but I'm not doing anymore, so that's why I say I have to choose my activities [carefully].

“But I'm doing a bit more gym, which I was not a fan of it and now I'm enjoying it much more than before, and I see that it helped me also to adjust good things on the body.”