What bone did Conor McGregor break?
Conor McGregor reportedly broke his left leg's lower tibia, commonly known as the shin bone, in the opening round of his fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 246. The Irishman sustained the brutal injury after wrongly planting his foot on the canvas while engaging in a striking battle with Poirier.
According to a report by TMZ Sports, Conor McGregor underwent surgery promptly after the bizarre end to the UFC 264 main event. Doctors at Cedars-Sinai hospital in L.A. inserted a rod into the former UFC champion's tibia. His fibula (calf bone) was fixed with plates and screws.
Conor McGregor gave an update on his injury via Twitter on Sunday:
"Just out of the surgery room guys! Surgery went excellent! Feeling tremendous! 6 weeks on crutch and we build back! Let’s go! God bless," wrote Conor McGregor.
When can fans expect Conor McGregor to make his return to the octagon?
At UFC 168, former middleweight champion Anderson Silva sustained an injury similar to Conor McGregor's recent fracture. The Brazilian fighter had also snapped his tibia and fibula after landing a kick on Chris Weidman. It took 'The Spider' more than a year to recover from the gruesome injury and make his comeback.
"I was afraid," said Anderson Silva in an interview with ESPN. "I don't look at my leg. I don't see my leg. I just take the medicine and just sleep for two days."
Going by Anderson Silva's recovery timeline, fans can expect 'Mystic Mac' to return next year. Dr. Brian Sutterer, a resident physician at the Mayo Clinic, also concurs that Conor McGregor will be able to revamp his athletic career post-recovery.
"Bones heal really well but it's this other type of stuff that can sometimes make the recovery a lot more difficult. Nevertheless, I'm glad to hear his surgery went well. There is no reason to think that his career is over. These generally heal just fine. We saw Anderson Silva come back...lot of examples of pro-athletes who've had pretty gnalry looking tibia fractures who've still been able to return to their sport," said Brian Sutterer.
Check out Brian Sutterer's complete breakdown of Conor McGregor's foot injury at UFC 264 below:
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