Anderson Silva says he 'will be back,' quashes retirement rumors
Anderson Silva has a long road to recovery, but multiple reports say he wants to return to the UFC.
Jorge Guimaraes, one of Silva's managers, told TMZ that the all-time great "will be back" in the Octagon. Silva's coach, Pedro Rizzo said in an interview with MMAFighting.com that Silva told him: "I will be back."
"He had his second X-ray [Thursday] and everything looks great," Guimaraes told TMZ. "It was a clean break so the nerves are OK. He's already started physical therapy and he's moving his toes."
A message left by FOX Sports with Silva's other manager, Ed Soares, went unreturned Sunday.
Silva, the former UFC middleweight champion, broke his leg in grisly fashion on Dec. 28 when he attempted to kick opponent Chris Weidman's leg. Weidman checked the kick with his knee and Silva's left leg snapped on impact. The greatest pound-for-pound fighter ever fell to the canvas and screamed in agony in one of the most heartbreaking scenes in UFC history.
Dr. Steven Sanders, the UFC doctor who performed surgery on Silva's broken tibia, said the Brazilian could return to training in nine months.
But there are obstacles. Dr. Robert Klapper, who has performed surgery on Silva in the past at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, said Silva could experience pain in his leg for a year, as long as there are screws in his bone locking in the rod that was inserted.
Also, Kevin Ware, the Louisville college basketball player who suffered a compound fracture famously in a postseason game last March, said he "wouldn't be surprised" if Silva retired, because of the difficulty of coming back from such an injury.
Rizzo said Silva doesn't seem to be interested in hanging up the gloves.
"At the hospital, Anderson told me 'I will be back, master. I will be back,'" Rizzo told MMAFighting.com. "I told him 'Yeah, you'll be back home to recover and rest'. And he said 'I will be back, master.' He's a fighter. He has six months to recover, heal and then decide what he's going to do next."
