Ducati's Marquez in good spirits after shoulder, foot operations

May 15 : Marc Marquez feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders after the MotoGP world champion underwent double surgery on Sunday, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi said.

The Spaniard had been scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery after this week's Catalan Grand Prix but after a crash at last week's French Grand Prix sprint left him needing an operation on a fractured foot he opted to get both done together.

“Marc is very happy, because all these operations have lifted a weight off his shoulders – a problem that, right from the start of the season, was clearly holding him back," Tardozzi told DAZN on Thursday.

"Right now, the most important thing is for Marc to recover and get back on the bike in good shape. However long it takes, we’ll see. When he returns, I think he’ll still give us plenty of reasons to celebrate."

Marquez, 33, had been dealing with a shoulder injury since crashing at the Indonesian Grand Prix in October last year, but rode through it to set a lap record at Le Mans last week.

“Marquez has shown once again that he’s a superhero, knowing what was going on and what the doctor told us. He’s a superb rider," Tardozzi added.

Marquez is seventh in the riders' standings, 71 points behind Aprilia's championship leader Marco Bezzecchi.