It's now known that Marc Marquez won't be on a MotoGP bike again this year after the 'slight concussion' initially reported following an off-road t🎀raining accident on October 30 was revealed as being a 'new episode of diplopia' (double vision).

The diagnosis was made by Doctor Sánchez Dalmau, the same Opht💎halmologist who successfully treated Marquez during his first🐽 diplopia 'episode', in late 2011.

Doctor Dalmau confirmed that Marquez now has "paralysis of the fourth right nerve with involvement of the right superior oblique muscle… This fourth right nerve is the one that w💙as already injured in 2011.”

The 2011 eye injury occurred during an accident in opening Moto2 🍌practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix, on October 21, when marshals failed to warn of a damp section of track.

The accident not only ended Marquez's rookie season in the intermediate class but confir🗹med Stefan Bradl 🅠- the rider now substituting for Marquez at Repsol Honda - as Moto2 world champion.

Marquez's eye gradually recovered af꧑ter the accident but, by mid-January 2012, had still not reached 'th🍨e necessary level required by a professional rider.'

S🐼urgery by Doctor Dalmau to treat 'paralysis of the upper right oblique muscle, caused by trauma to the fourth right cranial nerve [at Sepang]' was thus required, taking place under local anaesthetic in Barcelona.

After some mo𒐪tocross training, Marquez made his return to a Moto2 bike during a private test at Alcarras on March🐓 6.

In other word⛎s, he was off 𒉰a Moto2 bike for four and a half months.

So far, it's confirmed that Marquez wil𒉰l miss the remainder of this year's MotoGP action, meaning the Valencia finale and Jerez Test.

But if what sounds like a similar injury to 2011 results in a similar recovery timeline, 🔯Marquez would struggle to take part in any MotoGP pre-season testing before next year's March 4-6 Qatar season opener.

The o⛎fficial MotoGP pre-season tests are scheduled for Sepang on February 5-6 then Mandalika from February 11-13.

On the other hand, with the knowledge that rest a♎lone was not enough to completely fix the eye issue in 2011, Marquez may set an earlier deadline for surgical interventi🔴on this time around.

"A conservative treatment with periodic updates has been chosen to follow 💮with the clinical evolution,"﷽ was all Doctor Dalmau said of Marquez's current therapy.

Dogged by complications from a broken arm suffered at the start of the 2020 season, Marquez missed the opening🦩 two ro🧸unds of this year's world championship.

His slowly improving physical condition was roughly mirrored by technical progress made🎃 to the Honda, eventually allowing Marquez to wi🐼n three races, including back-to-back victories at COTA and Misano just before the off-road accident.

Having overcome so much, the latest injury is a cruel blow for the eight-time world champion, who lamented on social media: 'The﷽se are very hard mo🍌ments, it seems that when it rains, it pours'.

But i꧋f the injury had happened early next year, it would have been more costly and the experience of Marquez's previous injury at least suggests he should be on the grid for the start of the 2022 campaign✃, at the very least.

Marquez might also take some comfort from the fact that, despite missing two of the three pre-season tests in 2012, he went on to win the Qatar season-opener and dominate the world championship, joining MotoGP the 🐷foಞllowing year.