Conor McGregor 'running' towards May or June 2014 return to the UFC
Conor McGregor is looking to be a medical miracle with his recovery from ACL knee surgery earlier this year, but his coaches and management team are keeping an close eye on things to make sure he doesn't push past his limits.
The young Irish featherweight has been residing in Los Angeles for the past several weeks as he rehabilitates his injured knee, going through the exact same routines that UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre underwent after he had knee surgery.
McGregor is currently 10 weeks out from the surgery and he's already running on an anti-gravity treadmill to get back in shape for his return to the Octagon in 2014. This is the same machine that Kobe Bryant used when he was recovering from an Achilles' injury while working to get back to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this year. Ironically enough, the same doctor that did the surgery on Bryant's Achilles also handled McGregor's knee as well.
McGregor posted a video of his progress on Facebook last week before he flew to Las Vegas to catch UFC 167 front row alongside Michael Bisping and UFC Hall of Famers Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar.
According to McGregor's management team at Paradigm Sports Management, the Irishman is already ahead of schedule running at 50-percent of his body weight while using the anti-gravity treadmill. The current schedule for McGregor will have him back in training in about six months, but that doesn't mean he'll be fighting quite that soon.
The idea is for McGregor to get back into training in six months and then spend four to six weeks getting his body back in prime fighting shape while testing out the knee. From there, McGregor should be able to book a fight, which they estimate to be in about eight months time.
"40 to 48 week range for his return (from surgery to back in the Octagon)," his management team stated when speaking to FOX Sports.
The timeline is currently set at late May or June 2014 for McGregor to get back in action, which could possibly coincide with the UFC's plans to hold an event in Dublin, Ireland next year. McGregor taking part on that card only makes sense because he is the biggest start on the UFC's roster from Ireland, and his return there would certainly send the local fans into a frenzy.
As of now, McGregor will continue to work and rehab his knee in Los Angeles until he is recovered enough to go home in a few months to Ireland and start his training to prepare for a return to the Octagon.
