DUCATI’S ALDEGUER AND MARQUEZ EXPECT MORE SURGERY AS 2026 ENDS

Gresini Ducati teammates Alex Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer are heading into the closing stretch of the 2026 MotoGP season with their bodies still under strain, and both riders have pointed to further surgery in the off-season as a necessity rather than an option.

Marquez’s situation has been shaped by a serious crash at the Catalan Grand Prix in May, where he suffered multiple fractures and was forced to miss racing until the Brno round in mid-June. Since returning, he has produced encouraging results, including two sprint podiums and three top-five finishes from the last four grands prix. However, the San Marino Grand Prix brought a more sobering message: he says his shoulders still limit him, and that he expects to have to “survive” through to the end of the year.

Speaking at Misano, Marquez said he is scheduled for surgery in December to remove metalwork, describing the procedure as the point at which he expects to be “fit and ready for the next season.” Until then, he explained that the focus is simply getting through each race weekend despite ongoing issues. “But here until the end [of the season], I will need to survive with the problems that I have,” he said. He added that the problem is not one that he believes will completely cap his overall ability, but it affects how he feels on race day—especially late in the session.

Marquez referenced how the demands of Sunday riding can leave him arriving “a little bit more on the limit” with the muscles and power, and he described the shoulder issue as something that makes him more tired and slightly less capable as the race progresses. “So, it’s under control and it’s something I want to try to forget about and win a race between now and the end of the season,” he said.

He also highlighted the next phase of his recovery as a key test: the Misano/Red Bull Ring double-header. Marquez said it will be his first opportunity to handle back-to-back races, with both rounds featuring heavy braking zones that he expects to be tough for his shoulders. “This will be my first test to have back-to-back races, here and in Austria,” he said, adding that after those events he will have a clearer picture of his reality for the season’s final stretch. He believes that within roughly a month and a half his body will adapt better to the issue.

Aldeguer’s campaign has been disrupted by earlier injury as well. He missed the opening races of 2026 due to a broken femur, before suffering a back injury in a crash at the Dutch Grand Prix. According to the report, the back problems have also caused more pain in his leg, and he expects that off-season surgery will address it.

Aldeguer admitted that being fully fit this year is unrealistic. “I think this season is impossible [to be 100% fit],” he said. He then pointed to the winter as the time when he will undergo another operation to remove metalwork. “Maybe this winter, after when I do the surgery to take out all of the metal,” he explained, saying the doctor told him that around 90% of the pain should disappear after the procedure.

While he wants to finish the season strongly, Aldeguer made clear that the plan is to reach December for the next operation. “I’m waiting. I want to finish this season in a good way, but I also want to be in December to take out all of the metal. It’s the only option. It’s like this,” he said.

With both riders still carrying injury-related limitations, the remainder of 2026 looks less like a clean sprint to the finish and more like a controlled effort to manage pain and fatigue—until the scheduled winter surgeries can finally reset their physical condition for the next season.