He might need the extra time to properly prepare for his marathon. I am assuming he is doing it under therapy supervision (please) so he can prepare and perform adequately without damaging his health any further. Which if it is the case, go for it, focus on that and come back stronger after your race.
Call me a fool, but I enjoyed what we had and I have other shows to fill up the space. And here I was thinking that Oda had taken more breaks since Togashi came back. Thanks to you people, I am very superstitious…now. At least we didn't get a countdown to the end with some ink splashed on the counter.