The MotoGP star rider is an eight-time world champion, six in the premier class, and is lauded among the best 🐼of his generation.

But a dreadful period since winning the 2019 title - interrupted by career-threatening injuries an♛d Honda’s fall-off - have resulted in him making admissions that never felt possible.

“The summer break arrived at the best moment for me, the cor𝓀rect moment,” he told .

“I was injured, I was e♒mpty in races. There were crashes. The rib was broken, the finger broken, the ankle…

“I t💫ook time to rebuild my body and energy. And I had time to prepare ꦏthe second half of the season.

“I’m still not 100%, especially on my ri♉ght leg. But it’s acceptable to ride the bi꧃ke.

“When I🌜 had the arm injury it was a difficult moment, very demanding, four different surgeries.

“Now I feel ready to fight✤ for victories but, for some reason, I am not able to do it.

“That becomes difficult on the mental side.

“Crashes, injuries, in my professional life this is the hardest moment. But my personal life is at its best mome෴nt so this compensates a bit.”

Marquez arrived injury-free into 2023 after incredibly batt꧅ling back from a fourth arm surgery a year ago which might have ended his career.

But he crashed on the first weekend, injuring a hand, then had 💧back-to-back weekends in Germany and the Netherlands where he was constantly in the gravel, and he withdrew from both grands prix.

Astonishingly afte💯r nine rounds of the championship, Marquez has yet to complete a Sunday race.

• Marc Marquez🃏 shock at Alex Rins’ exit: “He said 🌸Honda have a good bike!”

“All my career has been very♒ sweet, flowers, ve༒ry easy, a lot of wins and eight world championships,” he said.

“Then one day my nightmare started.

“It was so difficult. Three years of suffering.

“It was 𓂃♈time to say: ‘Maybe this is the time to stop my career’.

“But still the passion and motivation is there.

“Some people around me said ‘it’s 𒐪time to stꦇop’. But most said ‘continue’.”

Many of Marquez’s problems surround his Honda - his team and fellow Japanese manufacturer Yamaha have fallen way behind their European counterparts, initiall๊y Ducati but ൲now also KTM and Aprilia.

It has led 💦to speculation that he could seek aꦉ new environment although, at Silverstone, he revealed his expectation to stay at Honda in 2024.

“Every year when I start th𝐆e season it’s to fight for the championship,” 🐻he said.

“It d🍸oesn’t matter if it’s the ninth championship or the 🍃first. I will fight in the same way.

“But it’s true that, today, we cannot think about theౠ championship.

“The reality is we are not ready to wi🍎n. Noꦬt me, not the bike, many reasons.

“In three years I have completed just half of the races. Many injuries. It is time to rebuild 🌄confidence.

“Then I hope, next year, to think 🌺about the championship.”