Injured during the first GP of the season in Portugal, the six-time MotoGP world champion has already missed the Grand Prix of the Americas on April 16.

He will be replaced in Jerez by his compatriot Iker Lecuona.

"We did a new scan yesterday (Tuesday) which confirmed that the bone is not completely healed, although the injury is progressing favourably, and that racing in Jerez was risky," the 30-year-old said in a statement from his Repsol Honda team.

"We decided with the medical team not to take any risks, to wait two more weeks and come back for Le Mans," at the France GP from May 12 to 14.

Starting from pole position at the Portuguese GP on March 26, the Catalan crashed on lap 2 while dragging Portuguese Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) to the ground after colliding with his compatriot Jorge Martin (Ducati).

For this accident, Marquez received a penalty of two "long lap", a detour to be taken twice. This penalty should in principle apply at the next event contested by Marquez, but Repsol Honda has appealed this sanction.

After his accident, Marquez underwent surgery for an intra-articular fracture of the first metacarpal bone in his right hand.

© 2023 AFP