The motorcycle world championship starts, and Marc Marquez is still not there.
Intensified workouts, motorbike outings on the tracks of Barcelona and Portimao.
That "I do not rule out returning to Qatar", where he had been to undergo the anti-Covid vaccine made available by the emirate.
Many clues seemed to lead the Spanish champion to return in time to participate in the start of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship next Sunday, at least in free practice on Friday, which the Honda rider could have used to test the tightness of the multi-operative arm.
Instead, on the advice of doctors, prudence prevailed.
Marquez will not race in Losail.
Neither this weekend nor the next, again in Qatar.
On Monday 12 April he will undergo another medical check-up which will say whether he will be able to line up in Portugal over the following weekend.
After consulting with his team at Hospital Ruber Internacional (where he was last operated on), he felt it was prudent to miss at least two more grand prixes.
"After the last check, the doctors advised me that the most prudent thing was not to take part in the Qatar Grand Prix and to continue with the recovery plan that we have followed in recent weeks - explained the rider in a widespread statement. from the Repsol Honda Team - I would have liked to have been able to participate in the opening round of the World Championship, but we will have to continue working to be able to recover the optimal conditions that will allow us to return to competitions. "
The control visit carried out on the pilot's arm 15 weeks after surgery for an infected pseudarthrosis of the right humerus, "found a good clinical response, after the intensification of the preparation", explains Marquez's team.
But the medical team led by Drs Samuel Antuña and Ignacio Roger de Oña, and composed of Drs De Miguel, Ibarzabal and the García Villanueva has advised the return to competition in the first race of the championship 2021.
Considering the time period and the current state of the bone consolidation process, the doctors considered it "prudent and necessary not to speed up Marquez's return to the track after such a long period of inactivity", and to avoid putting the humerus at risk in intense competition.