Ducati's Marquez says he needs time before getting back into title fight

May 29 : Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez played down expectations ahead of his return at the Italian Grand Prix this weekend, saying he needs time to get back into top shape after undergoing two surgeries following a crash.

Marquez missed the French Grand Prix race as well as the entire Catalan Grand Prix weekend after fracturing his foot in the crash at Le Mans.

After having surgery on a metatarsal fracture as well as a separate shoulder operation, the 33-year-old has been given the green light to compete in the first practice session in Mugello on Friday.

"If I come back with the mentality that I can win this championship, I will be injured again," he told MotoGP on Thursday.

"Let’s see that if in the next races I can rebuild my right arm, and from that point I know the speed will arrive.

“But, first of all, I need to feel well about my physical condition."

The Spaniard said his shoulder injury, which he picked up in a crash at the Indonesian Grand Prix in October last year, was his primary concern rather than his recent foot fracture.

“The foot is peanuts, the foot, nothing, I was ready to race in Catalunya. It’s more the shoulder was my biggest limitation these last months," he added.

Marquez is ninth in the riders' standings, 85 points behind Aprilia's championship leader Marco Bezzecchi.