MOTOR RACING: Marc Marquez set for Italian GP return, Pirro steps in for injured Alex

Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez is set to return for the Italian Grand Prix this weekend, his team Ducati said on Tuesday, following two surgeries after his crash at Le Mans earlier this month.

Marquez missed the French Grand Prix race as well as the Catalan Grand Prix weekend after fracturing his foot in a nasty highside crash in the sprint at Le Mans.

The 33-year-old had surgery on a metatarsal fracture as well as a separate shoulder operation, which was originally scheduled for after his home Catalan Grand Prix.

"Following a positive medical check, Marc will travel to Mugello tomorrow," Ducati said in a statement.

"He is scheduled for a final trackside assessment on Thursday to secure the 'fit to race' clearance for the Italian Grand Prix."

Ducati's Italian test rider Michele Pirro will replace Marquez's brother Alex on the Gresini Racing bike after the Spaniard suffered a horror crash at the Catalan Grand Prix.

Alex will miss the Grands Prix in Italy and Hungary after suffering a marginal fracture in a vertebra near his neck, along with a fracture to his right collarbone.

-Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris/Reuters