Marc Marquez says he is facing up to his ‘most difficult situation professionally’ as he heads into the summer break looking to regain both physical strength and mental confidence for the remainder of the 2023 MotoGP season.

Forced to withdraw from the German MotoGP after five huge crashes left him with a broken rib, the Spaniard’s torrid 2023 campaign showed no sign of abating next time out at Assen a few days later when he suffered two more falls and proved uncompetitive.

Eventually opting to sit out Sunday’s full length GP feature, it was the fifth time this season the six-time MotoGP World Champion hasn’t started the main race.

During the weekend I have suffered a lot, but I decided to keep on riding and I was able to try a few things but the crash [in Germany] was a big one and I arrived here with many difficulties and injuries in my body.

“Overnight I was unable to sleep because my rib was most painful. So I went to the medical centre to say that I wasn’t able to race and [they confirmed the rib] it had moved a bit so they declared unfit, but I was completely ready [to race]. 

His sporadic injuries and erratic form come at a time of heightened speculation involving Marquez, with talk he could seek a way out of his Honda contract one year earlier and seek a fresh deal with a new manufacturer.

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For now, Marquez was giving little away about his future, but freely admitted that - after three years of persistent injury woes and lengthy recoveries - Honda’s lack of competitiveness is expected to prompt a canvas of potential options elsewhere, with KTM believed to be mulling a swoop.

“Now I have a month to rest, relax and rebuild everything - the physical and mental side,” he continued.

“Now we are in a difficult situation. But I need to work, as I say I have one month to rebuild all these things, to get the confidence again.”

Despite his difficulties on track, Marquez points out that he is in a good place in his personal life and will look to use that as a way of transforming his fortunes. 

“I am in one of my difficult moments on my professional side, but I am in one of my best moments in my personal life, so I feel very supported by my family, my manager and my team around me and this will help to get me out of this hard moment.”