Marc Marquez diagnosed with 'new episode' of diplopia after Mandalika accident

Marc Marquez's 2022 MotoGP title hopes have been dealt a major blow with the news that he has suffered a 'new episode' of diplopia, following his huge accident in warm-up at Mandalika on Sunday.
Marc Marquez, Indonesian MotoGP, 19 March 2022
Marc Marquez, Indonesian MotoGP, 19 March 2022
© Gold and Goose

The eight-time world champion, who was forced out of the final two rounds of last season du𒊎e to double-vision problems, first suffered back in 2011, made the announcement on social media:

"It seems that I am experiencing déjà vu... During the trip back to Spain, I began to have discomfort with my vision, and we decided to ♎visit Dr. Sánchez Dalmau, who confirmed that I have a new episode of diplopia.

"Fortunately, it is lessꦰ severe than the injury I had at the end of last year. But now it's time to rest and wait to see how the injury evolves. As always, thank you very much to everyone for your support!🐲!"

After staggering slowly away, Marquez was ruled unfit to race at Mandalika due to a concussion suffered in the hugeꦉ warm-up highside. It was his fourth accident of the weekend as alꦦl Honda riders struggled for corner-entry grip from the modified Michelin tyre casing.

Following the vision problems during his return journey to Spain, Marquez made an emergency visit to the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona to see his trusted﷽ ophthalmologist, Dr. Bernat Sánchez Dalmau, who confirmed a relapse in the diplopia.

Dr. Sánchez Dalmau stated: “The neuro-ophthalmological evaluation carried out on Marc Márquez on Monday afte♕r the head injury that occurred at the Indonesian Grand Prix, shows a new episode of diplopia caused by a recurrence of paralysis of the fourth right nerve, with less involvement than the one that occurred in the injury in November 2021.

"After this examination, it was initially decided to follow ♉a conservative treatment with periodic medical tests. Next week, Marc Márquez will undergo a new check-up to evaluate the evolution of the injury and to predict the estimated recovery period to return to competition.”

today

A testament to how good modern protective gear is, we're incredibly 🌸happy to see and hear that he's OK! See you in Argentina, Marc!

— MotoGP (@MotoGP)

Marquez🔜 was off a motorcycle for 2.5 months of complete rest after last year's double-vision recurrence, which was triggered by an enduro training accident. On that occasion the symptoms also took tiꦓme to appear.

Returning to a motocross bike in mid-January, Marquez then rode an RC2🌃13V-S at Portimao before being cleared for a MotoGP return at the start of pre-season testing at Sepang in February.

But it was spelt out to the 29-year-old that ꦰ;there would always be the risk of&n♏bsp;a relapse.

"When I spoke to my doctor, it was my first question: 'If I crash in the Malaysia test, what is the possibility to create the same problem again?' And the answer was clear: 'The possibility is the same as you will have in two years. The nerve probl𝕴em is there. If you crash tomorrow or you crash in two years and you touch that nerve again, it will be damaged'," Marquez said last mo✨nth.

Although the Mandalika accident was one of the biggest of Marquez's career, having fallen less then ten times (five over the Qatar and Mandalik📖a rounds, plus some test👍ing spills) since the last diplopia incident, concern over how easily the nerve can be re-damaged will now be heightened.

Meanwhile, after the ey🀅e examination in Barcelona, Marquez visited the Ruber Internacional Hospital in Madrid this (Tuesday) morning, where he underwent a general check-up to evaluate all the bruises caused by the Mandalika crash and undergo a brain MRI. This reconfirmed he did not suffer any other injuries.

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