• UFC

Carwin hopeful of rapid return from surgery

ESPN staff
November 15, 2011
Shane Carwin was beaten by Junior Dos Santos in June © UFC
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Shane Carwin is to undergo surgery to remedy a long-standing problem in his back, but is positive he will be back well ahead of schedule.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Carwin has not fought since tasting defeat at the hands of Junior Dos Santos in June.

In October, it was revealed Carwin needed surgery - with the prognosis being that he would be out of the Octagon until well into 2012.

Surgery is scheduled to take place on Tuesday but despite the severe-sounding nature of the procedure, Carwin feels he could be back in training early next year.

"It's [sections] T10 to T12 so it's basically the middle of the back and I have a disc that's pressing into my spinal cord and it's basically removed all the fluid around the area," he told Inside MMA. "[They] are gonna drill out the bone in my spine to give that spinal cord some room in there."

Carwin has had a string of injuries and has revealed he was given the option to walk away from the sport.

He said: "The first time something really bad happened was I was doing a seminar, drilling takedowns, and I got taken down and both my legs froze up. I actually thought I was paralysed. It lasted about 10 or 15 seconds and I wasn't able to move them or anything.

"The doctor told me that I could either have this surgery and be able to train and do all the things I need to do to be a complete athlete or we could forego the surgery and I could quit. I would be done."

Asked when he expects to return to training, he said: "Probably only… about 10 weeks."

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