UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre underwent surgery earlier today to repair a knee injury that he suffered a few weeks ago.
According to MMAFighting.com, the surgery was conducted under Dr.Neal ElAttrache, one of the most renowned surgeons in sports medicine and a current team physician for Major League Bseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers.
St-Pierre suffered the injury by overcompensating it during a wrestling training session a couple of weeks ago.
The champion, who had recently come off a minor injury to his left knee, felt pain in his right knee but attempted to continue.
The St. Isidore native continued his training camp with no swelling in his knee, but the pain only worsened.
St-Pierre underwent an MRI to reveal that he had a torn ACL in his right knee that will force him to withdraw from his upcoming title bout against Nick Diaz, scheduled for February 6th at UFC 143.
St-Pierre’s personal physician, Dr. Sebastien Simard, explained during a recent teleconference that the surgery was mandatory and it would reconstruct the champion’s ACL, as well as repair some damage to his meniscus.
Simard was optimistic that St-Pierre will return to the UFC in the future, but the injury should require him to be out of action for six to nine months depending on the rehabilitation process.
In the meantime, an interim welterweight title bout was scheduled due to St-Pierre’s absence, and Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz will meet in the main event at UFC 143.
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