Kevin Lee to have ACL surgery on Thursday; will miss at least six months
Kevin Lee won’t be fighting anytime soon due to a torn left ACL.
ESPN spoke with the UFC lightweight, who said his surgery is scheduled for Thursday in Las Vegas. Lee added that the doctors told him he’d miss a minimum of six months, however he hopes to return earlier.
“It used to mean being out a year,” Lee told ESPN. “They’ve gotten better with the technology and the [physical therapy], so it might even be sooner. I don’t know.”
Earlier this month, Lee told SiriusXM that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed him getting an MRI on his knee. He would not say how the injury occurred.
“Honestly, not even doing anything that was totally out of the ordinary,” Lee said April 17 on The Luke Thomas Show. “I mean, I’m not going to stay specifically how it happened because of insurance, you know. But, it wasn’t something totally out of the ordinary. I think I may have been affected by this whole virus and s— more than I think. For some reason, I’ve been overly fatigued and my body isn’t feeling great. I zigged when I should have zagged and heard a pop pretty loud. Since then I’m unable to move it much.”
Lee’s last outing came in the main event of the last UFC event (March 14) before the company was forced to postpone events due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the fight Lee suffered a third-round submission loss to Charles Oliveria.
Lee (18-6) has now lost three of his past four fights and was planning on taking some time off after the Oliveria loss.
“At this point, it is what it is. I kind of wanted the break anyway,” Lee said. “Now it’s seriously forcing me to take it.”
Kevin Lee, 27, is currently ranked No. 10 in the official UFC lightweight rankings.
