Marc Marquez's surgery complete

Almost exactly a year after major surgery on his left shoulder, reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez underwent a 'similar' operation on the right shoulder ('but less aggressive in nature') in Barcelona on Wednesday.

Although not as bad as the frequently dislocated left shoulder, a series of recent 'subluxations' (partial dislocations) - including during a 'very slow' fall at Monday's Jerez test - prompted Marquez to seek surgery on the right shoulder before it deteriorates any further.

'With his most successful premier class season to date finished, eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez elected to undergo surgery at the Hospital Universitari Dexeus-Quiron today, November 27;' said a Repsol Honda statement. 'The operation was performed by Dr. Xavier Mir, Dr. Victor Marlet and Dr. Teresa Marlet, all part of ICATME (the Catalan Institute of Traumatology and Sports Medicine).

'After experiencing some discomfort with his right shoulder, and after his Monday crash at the Jerez Test, the Repsol Honda Team rider elected to have the operation as a preventative measure after medical consultation. The operation is similar to the one performed on his left shoulder at the end of 2018 but less aggressive in nature.

'Marquez will be discharged within the next 48 hours. He will then begin his recovery and winter training in preparation for the Sepang Test at home in Cervera.'

The eight-time world champion now faces a repeat of last year's rehabilitation 'race', to be as fit as possible for the opening test of 2020 at Sepang from February 7-9.

Reflecting on Marquez's latest title victory, HRC technical manager Takeo Yokoyama told Crash.net that after the previous surgery: "We expected he would be maybe 80% [fit] at the Sepang test, but he was less than 50%, honestly speaking."

Marquez and Honda will now hope that the 'less aggressive' nature of the latest operation transfers into a swifter recovery.

Such lengthy recuperation time was also why LCR's Takaaki Nakagami called an early end to this season. The Japanese, also targeting a return at the 2020 Sepang test, had shoulder surgery on October 29 and a recent Instagram post showed he is still wearing a sling:

But Marquez has been through it all before and - despite last winter's surgery - went on to dominate the 2019 season, claiming twelve wins, 18 podiums and almost single-handedly giving HRC the riders', teams' and constructors' titles.

After Marquez returned to the track following a big practice highside at Buriram last month, Andrea Dovizioso - his closest title rival for the past three seasons - perfectly summed up the #93's attitude to injuries:

"There are two types of riders. Most speak about their [problems] in front of everybody and say, ‘I have this [injury], I have this, I have that.’ But some do the opposite – they don’t talk about their injuries so that they don’t show [weakness]. And they push at 100 percent. Marc is one of them."

It now transpires that's exactly what Marquez has been doing.

The Repsol Honda rider explained just before the latest operation that he had kept his right shoulder problems secret since 'before Motegi', including a partial dislocation when he was thrown off his RCV while trying to follow Fabio Quartararo in qualifying at Sepang earlier this month.

Without surgery, such dislocations become more and more common as the joint weakens. "To start this season without an operation would mean in every crash I would [dislocate] the shoulder," Marquez said after last year's operation.

Tech3 KTM's Miguel Oliveira is the third MotoGP rider currently recovering from shoulder surgery, underdoing his procedure on November 3.