The former world championship rider explained why the Spaniard’s situation isn’t so simple: he knows it well because he suffered from a similar problem. There could be at Le Mans
4 maggio 2023
Marc Marquez he started the 2023 world championship with pole and a third place in the first Sprint race but from then on everything went badly. The accident he caused in the race at Portimao also put Oliveira out of action.
However, the Spaniard has not yet returned, even if many were already waiting for him in Jerez. on health conditions two authoritative figures have expressed their views on the eight-time world champion, albeit in different ways: the former driver Marco Melandri (who is suffering from a similar problem) and the surgeon who operated on Marquez, Roger de Ona.
Melandri’s words
These the Melandri thoughtexpressed in a video on Instagram: “I see surprised people… but it’s been four weeks since he had an operation (Marquez, ed), I had a similar operation, I’m seven weeks and my thumb still hurtshe is a quattro. Definitely in the general thought of people after four weeks you have to be ready to race, after everything they’ve done in the past, and being just a little bone of the hand, he had to be ready”.
“But in the end – resumed Melandri – the hand is hard. I had a different operation because a ligament in my thumb had detached, he broke the bone and a small screw was placed on it, in a sense we are similar ordinary people fail to understand that the thousand and the thumb they are the ones who keep all the weight when you brake. In the right hand you have the gas and the brake and therefore you can’t do anything”.
More on Marquez: “As you get older, it’s becoming aware of the risks, because the body doesn’t forget anything, the body presents you with the bill. So that’s okay with me (that he doesn’t run, ed), I would have been surprised that he ran. We hope he comes back as strong as he can.”
Surgeon’s explanation
Marquez underwent surgery on the Sunday of the Portimao GP at the Ruber Clinic in Madrid. The surgery was performed by the team of Dr Roger de Ona who is the chief of hand surgery.
“Marc’s fracture is known as Bennett fracture – explained the luminary in an interview with Motorsport.com -. It’s different than a diaphyseal fracture, which we could have fixed with screws or a plate. In his case there was just a small fragment of bonethe rest of the thumb was dislocated. Then the bone it must heal well because a MotoGP puts a lot of force on that area (of the hand, ed)”.
Then the doctor gave some time references for recovery, making comparisons with other sportsmen: “For an athlete who uses this area a lot, like a quarterbacka player of basket or a rider, the healing time is between six and eight weeks. If Marc could have raced again in four weeks, it would have been extraordinary“.
The risk: “We couldn’t risk that the bone broke at the end of the straight a 350 km/h e could no longer brake“.
Another injury would compromised the hand: “We couldn’t have place the bone pieces correctly. The possibility of a consequential damage it would have been much greater.
The possibilities of return to Le Mans: “It will be seven weeks after the Le Mans operation. We are confident that he will be able to drive at Le Mans. If the normal evolution we have seen so far continues, he should be ready.”