It was a busy day at the Dexeus clinic in Barcelona, as both Marc Marquez and Cal Crutchlow went under the knife to fix injuries picked up at the opening round of the season at Jerez. Marquez broke his right humerus in a fast crash at Turn 3 during the race, while Crutchlow fractured his left scaphoid in a crash during warm up. Surgery was successful for both riders, with no complications reported.
Marc Marquez had the more invasive surgery. The doctors opened his right upper arm to put the broken humerus back together and fix it in place with a titanium plate. The best news from the operation is that there was no nerve damage, which had been a concern in the immediate aftermath of the crash.
With the humerus now plated, Marquez is aiming to return at Brno, to be held on August 9th. If that is too soon, then the Repsol Honda rider will try to race at the first round in Austria a week later.
Cal Crutchlow had the fractured scaphoid in his left hand pinned. The LCR Honda rider will test his wrist on Friday, to see if it will withstand the forces of riding a MotoGP machine.
Below are the press releases from Repsol Honda and LCR Honda:
Successful surgery for Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez prepares for second run in Jerez
Alex Marquez prepares for back-to-back races as reigning World Champion Marc Marquez undergoes surgery on his broken right humerus in Barcelona.
After falling heavily on Sunday, Marc Marquez was diagnosed with a broken right humerus and travelled to Barcelona on Monday to the Hospital Universitari Dexeus. Dr Xavier Mir and his team in collaboration with Dr Barrera performed an open reduction and internal fixation of a titanium plate to the right humerus. The radial nerve was untouched and did not need intervention.
Marc is now recovering from successful surgery and will remain in hospital for up to 48 hours. His aim is to return to the 2020 World Championship as soon as possible with an expected date becoming clearer soon.
Alex Marquez will again mount his Repsol Honda Team RC213V at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto after a solid rookie debut. The Gran Premio Red Bull de Andalucía presents a unique chance to run at the same circuit as the previous race, Alex and his side of the Repsol Honda Team garage able to apply all that they found during the previous weekend. Conditions ahead of the weekend look to again be demanding as temperatures are expected push above 30°C for most of the event. The reigning Moto2 World Champion will be aiming to collect points and finish as the top rookie once more.
Free Practice 1 begins at 09:55 Local Time on Friday, July 24. Lights for the 25-lap Andalucía GP will go out at 14:00 Local Time on Sunday, July 26.
Alex Marquez
“First, I’d like to again wish Marc, Cal and Alex Rins a speedy recovery. From my side as a rider, the situation does not change too much as I have my job, my objectives and I will always push to the maximum to achieve them. Going racing at the same circuit will be interesting, times will be very fast as most people have a good base setting but I am confident for the weekend, I learned a lot in my first GP and now I can apply it directly on the track again.”
Alberto Puig
Team Manager
“Everyone who races in the World Championship has the unfortunate possibility of getting injured and having to go to the operating room. Unfortunately, it was our turn and it was Marc who has had to undergo surgery. Marc will take some time to recover but we are happy with how everything has gone. Doctor Mir and his team have taken care of the entire situation since the fall and performed a successful operation. This gives the Repsol Honda Team a lot of motivation, knowing it went well, but now we have to be patient to see how Marc recovers and to understand when he can return.”
“Cal Crutchlow also had an operation that went well and in principle, his intention is to test the wrist on Friday. We are optimistic about his participation in the Grand Prix."
“This weekend we will be focused on Alex, helping him to take another step forward. When you are young and new in a category, every week you improve and grow. We hope he can close the gap to the front of the race.”
SUCCESSFUL SURGERY FOR CRUTCHLOW IN BARCELONA
21 July 2020 | Barcelona
LCR Honda CASTROL rider Cal Crutchlow has undergone successful surgery on his injured left wrist. The Briton reported a fracture to his left scaphoid after crashing during the warm-up session at the Spanish GP last Sunday.
This morning, Dr. Xavier Mir performed surgery on Crutchlow's wrist at the Hospital Universitari Quirón DEXEUS in Barcelona. The surgeon was pleased with how the procedure went.
Lucio Cecchinello
“I would like to thank Dr. Mir and his medical team for performing surgery on Cal’s left wrist this morning. A small screw has been inserted into his scaphoid to fix the fracture. The surgery went well as Dr. Mir personally informed me, and Cal will be discharged from the hospital later this afternoon. If everything goes well, we expect him back at the Angel Nieto Circuit in Jerez on Thursday morning, where he will be visited by Dorna’s Medical Director, Dr. Ángel Charte who will assess his fitness to race. Our technical staff is working to have everything ready to allow Cal to ride in Friday’s morning practice.”