MotoGP, Marc Marquez and diplopia: Doctor Costa’s opinion

The nightmare returns for Marc Marquez who is once again suffering from diplopia, just a few months since the last episode. We spoke to Doctor Claudio Costa to see what he thinks.

What is your take on the situation, Doctor?

“Marc Marquez was perfectly normal when a crash in 2011 left him with diplopia, which saw him requiring surgery to resolve it. Then, in October 2021, he crashed while training and this problem returned. Today, all the tests show that it is peripheral, connected to the structure of the eyeball and the musculature. And it’s significant because the eye is clearly important in terms of one’s vision and knowing the world and people around us. Our entire consciousness has to do with the eye”.

What is the cause of this illness?

“The initial injury left scarring and now we have further unfortunate events that only add to it. The fact he doesn’t require surgery is positive. It’s minor and may even be sorted in a short space of time, with the proper treatments and rehabilitation. But it can also disappear from morning to night, so we hope this is the case, and that it happens soon, so that Marc is once again able to see the world he loves, that of racing, clearly and precisely.”

Will Marquez remain at risk of diplopia?

“No. We have two eyeballs that are governed by many muscles that allow us to move our eyes, but these are synchronised. So, in this case, we’re talking about a slight lack of synchronisation, a peripheral rather than central thing. Sunday’s trauma, a scary occurrence, has unfortunately brought this weakness back to the fore. We hope it is soon resolved and that he can get back to racing".

So no one can provide precise recovery times?

“No. Seeing as it’s a very light form, I think it might be an oedema of the musculature, something that has strained the old scarring. I think it could be resolved in a lot less than three months. He might wake up tomorrow and see clearly”.

Is it significant that these two events have occurred within a short space of time?

“No, because it depends on the extent of the incident. I didn’t see the October accident, but I saw Sunday’s and it looks as if he might have damaged the eyeball, which has caused the peripheral damage”.

So we can expect to see Marc Marquez back on top?

“I believe so, and this is my greatest wish for him”.

Translated by Heather Watson

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