Marc Marquez will return to the MotoGP paddock at the Austrian Grand Prix for an update on Honda’s progress

The six-time MotoGP world champion is sidelined after undergoing complex surgery on his right hand in a bid to regain the full fitness and mobility he lacked during his initial comeback from a badly broken arm suffered at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix. .

While Marquez continues to speed up his recovery, he will make his first appearance in the MotoGP paddock since May at the end of this month at the Red Bull Ring. The Spaniard once again contacted his factory Honda team for information on the development of the RC213V.

“Honda is at a critical juncture. I’m talking a lot with my team and trying to understand the 2022 bike, the situation and what’s going on,” Marquez said in a team release.

“That’s why I will go to Austria to talk to everyone and meet HRC staff from Japan to work for the future. We all work together, we win together, we lose together and we will come back together. I also talk to Stefan Bradl a lot, Santi and I work together and test stuff – we both know how I ride.

“I said at Mugello that I would be at home, but I wanted to stay in touch. With the previous surgery I was out too much and I want to be involved so that when I come back I have everything fresh.”

Marquez also provided an update on his recovery from the injury 10 weeks after his fourth surgery on his right hand, a three-hour operation performed at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

“Step by step I’m feeling better and the bone is healing well, which is the best news of all,” he said. “We are still in rehabilitation mode; I’m working really hard on my cardio to try to be ready.

“I have another medical at the end of August, after which we can take another step in rehab and really start working and building muscle. Some days are better than others, but it’s all part of the journey. I’m optimistic, but I don’t want to say too much about the timing until we have that inspection – it’s not the time to stress too much. I’ve been waiting for such sensations for a long time.”

The 29-year-old also delved into his personal “struggle” with injury and admitted he realized at the Spanish Grand Prix in May that “something had to change” with his mobility and arm strength, despite finishing race in Jerez in fourth place.

“It was a struggle, I struggled not for two days or two months, but for two years,” he explained. “I won a few races like that last year, but it was really hard for me.

“In Jerez, I realized that something needs to change. It was tough and it’s tough now morally – not because I don’t race, but because you always have doubts about the hand. I can’t do another operation. I’m sure it’s going to be good, but those thoughts are always in the back of your mind.”

A timetable for Marquez’s latest return from injury has not been set, but he is expected to aim to return to action in time for post-season testing to focus on Honda’s development ahead of the 2023 season.