UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has just revealed his most positive injury update to date as he continues his recovery from the eye-pokes he suffered during his first title defense against Ciryl Gane last year.

“I’m just on route back from the eye hospital. I’ve had a scan and things are progressing f**king nicely, which I’m very happy about,” Aspinall said in a video on his YouTube channel.

“They’re saying pretty soon, things keep rolling in the right direction, I will be cleared for contact. I’m back in the gym. I am back training. No sparring just yet. But if things keep going the way they’re going, we are back.”

So, finally it seems like there might be some light at the end of the tunnel, and naturally fans are eager to know when Aspinall might be able to return to the Octagon.

However, aside from continuing to heal up, Aspinall points out that he also now has to wait for the outcome of the upcoming interim heavyweight title fight that’s on the horizon.

“Everyone keeps asking when I’m going to fight,” Aspinall said. “The obvious answer is the other two guys, Alex [Pereira] and Ciryl [Gane] have to fight for the interim title. I’m obviously going to fight the winner. The UFC have told me that I’m fighting the winner.“

“First and foremost, I have to get my health right, which it’s on the right track. I have to wait for that to be done and we fight the winner. Simple as that.

“The goal is get fighting again. Get healthy, get fighting, and we are on the way to both. So, I’m very happy with that … I’m motivated and looking forward to getting back.”

There’s not too long to wait for the outcome of the Pereira vs. Gane fight as it’s set to go down in the co-main event of the UFC: White House event on June 14th.

So Aspinall’s return will hopefully then happen in the 2nd half of 2026 based on how his eye is healing up and what kind of shape the winner of the interim title fight is in after that co-main event clash.