How much time will Conor McGregor's leg injury take to heal?
It is a scary proposition to be a fighter on the Monday after a weekend fight, and Conor McGregor is not an exception to the rule. The Irish megastar fought Dustin Poirier in their UFC 257 rematch and absorbed 18 hard kicks to the calf before losing the contest via second-round TKO. A sore Monday indeed.
"My leg is completely dead and even though I felt like I was checking them (calf kicks) it was sinking in the muscle in the front of the leg and it was badly compromised and it's like an American football in my suit at the minute," Conor McGregor said during the post-fight press conference.
The kicks caused damage to McGregor's peroneal nerves. As revealed in the official medical suspensions list published by mixedmartialarts.com following UFC 257, Conor McGregor could face medical suspension for up to 180 days unless he presents a negative X-ray report of damage to the tibia and fibula of his right leg. The Irishman will still face a minimum 30 to 45 days suspension due to the TKO loss resulting from repeated blows to the head.
John Kavanagh believes Conor McGregor will be back in May
Conor McGregor's longtime coach John Kavanagh revealed the nature of his injuries in an interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani the day after the fight. Kavanagh referred to Conor McGregor's injury as a 'sore leg' and hoped to see him back in full training within a couple of weeks.
"It is no bone damage... You've not destroyed a ligament here. This is a sore leg and it will pass... and it (swelling) still is quite scary looking but we're on top of it with the icing, with the anti-inflamatories, keeping elevated... doing all the right stuff but he (Conor McGregor) did work out today... I would say within seven to ten days maximum, we'll be back full training and then as far away as May it would be months and months... no big damage taken so he'll be ready to go," John Kavanagh told ESPN.
The damage sustained by Conor McGregor at UFC 257 is a less severe injury than the torn ACL he suffered during his fight with Max Holloway in 2013, which kept McGregor from fighting for almost one year. If John Kavanagh's assessment is correct, the former two-division UFC champion will be able to grace the octagon by May 2021.