Alexander Gustafsson Is Out Indefinitely With Back Injury

alexander gustafsson ears

A recurring back injury has once again sidelined Swedish star Alexander Gustafsson, and at this stage there’s no clear indication of when he may be fit to return to the UFC’s Octagon.

Gustafsson fought for the first time in 11 months at UFC Fight Night 93 in Germany last month, picking up a unanimous decision win over Jan Blachowitz, and had been scheduled to fight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira next at UFC Fight Night 100 in November, but when his back problem flared up again he was left with no option but to pull out.

“Pain will come up and then disappear whenever it wants,” Gustafsson’s co-manager Tomas Ghassemi explained to ESPN.com. “It’s maybe an issue with a disk. When the pain starts to go into his legs, that’s when he knows it will affect his training and that’s what happened with this one.

“We wanted a quick turnaround after this last fight. He’s in great shape, but when it flared up and went into his legs, we couldn’t take the fight. If you try to fight through it and lose, you can’t blame it after the fact. It’s better to deal with it now.”

Gustafsson’s team are confident that the issue can be overcome, but it’s going to take time and so they are not even looking at a potential timetable for the 29 year-old’s return at this stage.

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