Johann Zarco’s knee is making noticeable progress again in everyday life – things are going well on the Honda – but surgery after his career is inevitable
Since suffering a serious knee injury at the Catalan Grand Prix in mid-May, Johann Zarco has competed in three more Grand Prix weekends. Most recently in Austria, the Frenchman was the best Honda rider, finishing seventh in the Sprint and tenth in the Grand Prix.
Zarco crashed in Turn 1 at the restart in Barcelona. His left leg subsequently became entangled in Francesco Bagnaia’s Ducati. The motorbike, with Zarco trapped beneath it, was thrown violently about in the gravel trap.
He sustained injuries mainly to his left knee. Nevertheless, the doctors decided against surgery. After a long period of rehabilitation, Zarco returned to his LCR Honda at MotorLand Aragón at the end of August.
He took the time needed for his recovery and had missed a total of eight race weekends. In everyday life, however, Zarco must always take care of his knee.
” “The leg works pretty well for motorcycling,” says the 36-year-old. “Nevertheless, I have to be careful with my activities. I can’t achieve the stability of a normal knee with intact ligaments.”
“And I’ll never have that again. But things are continuing to improve, because last week I went hiking in the mountains. That’s given me a bit more confidence in my knee.”
“I can even walk short distances again now – from one door to the next, for example – which was completely impossible before. The knee is simply getting better. These are encouraging steps for everyday life.”
A crash in Spielberg caused a moment of shock
When it came to motorcycling, it was already clear during his comeback in Aragon that his knee wasn’t causing any significant limitations. In Spielberg, Zarco crashed in Friday’s practice session at Turn 4, which leads downhill.
This crash gave him a fright at first. Nevertheless, he said afterwards: “It was a good test of my knee’s resilience, because I really started to skid in the gravel trap and was a bit worried about my knee.”
“That’s exactly the sort of twist that can cause pain, and fortunately there was no injury, which was a positive. But I was a bit worried.”
Now the Asian tour begins with the Japanese Grand Prix. Zarco felt the effects of the long flight from Europe: “After the long flight, I had to bend and move my knee a bit more so that it felt good again.”
“On the plane, I realised that I can feel like an old man,” he remarks with a smile. At 36, he is the oldest regular rider in the MotoGP field.
In recent months, however, he has had to adapt his training programme: “The most important thing for endurance training is cycling, which is quite strenuous.”
“I used to really enjoy playing padel tennis, but I don’t do that at all anymore. That’s exactly why I say I have to choose my activities carefully. Instead, I train a bit more at the gym.”
“I was never really a fan of that. But these days, I enjoy it much more than I used to. I’ve also noticed that it helps me do my body a lot of good.”
Knee operation inevitable in future
There are no plans for knee surgery during the winter break after the season finale, but Zarco knows that an operation awaits him in the future: “Definitely at the end of my racing career.”
“My meniscus isn’t in the right place, which can lead to osteoarthritis. There’s no rush at the moment, but if I want to grow old without any aches and pains, this operation will be unavoidable.”
Zarco will also be competing in MotoGP next year. After winning the Suzuka 8 Hours for the second year running in the summer of 2025, Honda rewarded him with a new two-year contract, which runs until the end of 2027.
