UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has revealed that he’s not going to get the all-clear to start sparring as soon as he’d hoped after the eye injuries he suffered late last year during a title fight with Ciryl Gane.

“At the minute, I’ve just had my recent scan,” Aspinall said on the ‘Fight Your Corner’ show. “I thought it was going to get cleared actually to spar and fight straight away, but they actually said they’re giving me another couple of months, so I’m just waiting because the cells in your eye take a little bit longer to heal, so as soon as they’re healed, we should be good to go.”

During the interview Aspinall also admitted to being frustrated that he’s still sidelined seven months after his last fight.

“It’s been a sh*t time,” Aspinall said. “It’s like you said, if you’re not fighting, you’re not earning. So, like, I’m not sitting here for fun. I’d love to be fighting. I’d love to be on these big cards and these big nights. I didn’t work since I was 10 years old to sit on the sidelines.”

Watch Aspinall’s full interview below.