Marc Marquez will attempt to return to MotoGP competition this weekend at Mugello, having been ruled out of action since he fractured his foot at Le Mans earlier this month.

The defending champion fell in the Le Mans sprint race and missed the grand prix there and the entire Barcelona weekend.

He used that injury break to get corrective work on his right shoulder, a lingering issue that he planned to fix in the next calendar gap, something he only revealed after the foot fracture.

Marquez explained that he’d been struggling with his right shoulder ever since his big crash with Marco Bezzecchi at Mandalika in October last year.

The primary issue was treated successfully last year, but he’d sustained damage to screws that were already there from past surgery that he’s now taken the opportunity to fix in his post-Le Mans injury break.

And now, after much speculation, Ducati confirmed on the Tuesday before the Mugello weekend that “following a positive medical check, Marc Marquez will travel to Mugello” on Wednesday.

“He is scheduled for a final trackside assessment on Thursday to secure the fit to race clearance for the Italian GP,” a statement from Ducati continued.

That trackside assessment should be a formality, based on precedent.

Marquez’s 2026 championship rivals haven’t exactly sprinted clear in his absence.

He was 51 points adrift of Aprilia rider Bezzecchi after his Le Mans sprint fall, and he’s now a not-insurmountable 85 adrift of the points leader in ninth.