Ducati team principal Davide Tardozzi has issued the most cautious assessment yet of Marc Marquez's chances of racing at next weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, conceding the Italian factory is still unsure whether the eight-time World Champion will be able to return to the grid only four weeks after surgery on his hand.
Marquez has been on the sidelines since a cold-tyre crash at the start of the Catalunya MotoGP triggered a season-changing pile-up that hospitalised Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco. The Spaniard, who walked away from the original incident, was later confirmed to have sustained a fracture in the small bones of his right hand and underwent surgery in the days that followed.
Tardozzi told Italian outlet Corsedimoto in the days after the operation that the team was preparing for both scenarios.
"He's a superhero, but we are not yet certain he will be in Mugello," Tardozzi said. "It is one thing to recover physically from the surgery. It is another thing entirely to put 30 laps of qualifying-pace riding into the body again. We will be guided by Marc and by his medical team."
The factory Ducati squad confirmed last week that Marquez had returned to light training and short stints on the Honda CBR600RR road bike the rider uses for fitness work between events. Italian media reports also described the rider undertaking limited gym work on his right side as part of post-operative rehab.
Mugello, the first of two Italian race weekends on the 2026 calendar, holds particular significance for Ducati. The Bologna marque has not lost the Italian GP since 2015, and the manufacturer's Mugello sweep — six wins in a row — is regarded internally as one of the team's strongest emotional commitments of the year. Tardozzi has previously said losing at Mugello "would be unthinkable" for the brand.
The complication is that Ducati has equally compelling sporting reasons to push for Marquez's return. The factory squad currently sits second in the manufacturers' standings behind Aprilia, with championship leader Marco Bezzecchi just one point clear of Aprilia stablemate Jorge Martin atop the riders' table after the Catalunya weekend. A clean Marquez return would not only buoy Ducati's title push but pressurise Bezzecchi at the Italian circuit where the Ducati machine has traditionally been at its strongest.
Marquez himself has been markedly more bullish in his limited social media output, posting a video from his Cervera home gym last week with the caption "Mugello is the dream — we work for it."
A final fit-to-race assessment is expected to take place in Madrid early next week. If passed, Marquez will be cleared to fly to Florence on Wednesday before opening day on Friday. If failed, the seat will remain officially marked as a TBA — though Ducati test rider Michele Pirro is on standby and has been seen running test laps at the Mugello circuit in the past fortnight.
The wider MotoGP paddock is also bracing for two further enforced absences. Alex Marquez has been ruled out of both Mugello and the following Hungarian round at Balaton after a second surgery on his pelvic injury. Johann Zarco has been confirmed by Honda LCR as fit to return at Mugello after his Catalunya knee injury proved less severe than initially feared.
The Italian Grand Prix runs from Friday to Sunday next week, with the sprint race on Saturday afternoon. Aprilia, who scored a one-two with Bezzecchi and Martin at Catalunya, are expected to start the weekend as title favourites — but a Marquez return would almost certainly change that calculation.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports](https://motorsports.global/article/marc-marquez-mugello-italian-gp-2026-ducati-superhero-return-uncertain). Visit for full coverage.*
