Georges St-Pierre Announces ACL Tear, but Quiet on UFC Return

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre may no longer be gracing the Octagon with his presence, but stepping into the training room has still come with a cost, as he announced on Thursday that he tore his anterior cruciate ligament.

While St-Pierre vacated the UFC championship in December of last year, he hasn’t left his teammates in a lurch. St-Pierre has been known to continue training and working alongside his Tristar Gym teammates in Montreal, even though he has yet to talk definitely about a return to the Octagon.

It seems that his time in the gym still comes at a price, as St-Pierre on Thursday said that he tore the ACL in his left knee during training. He’ll head in for surgery in the coming days and then another stint with rehab.

“Just got confirmation that I tore my left knee ACL during training this week… Surgery in a few days and rehab starts right away,” St-Pierre wrote on his Facebook page.

The former UFC 170-pound kingpin spent the better part of 2011 and 2012 on the shelf due to a torn ACL in his right knee. He returned in November of 2012 to unify the welterweight championship with a victory over interim titleholder Carlos Condit. St-Pierre then defeated Nick Diaz and Johny Hendricks before surprisingly vacating the belt in December.

“We all face challenges in our lives and I know only one way to take this one: Pain, hard work, no shortcuts and I will soon be back at 100%,” he continued on Thursday. “Stay tuned and thanks for your amazing support, as always. Merci à tous pour vos encouragements.”

While recent speculation had pointed to a possible return in early 2015, St-Pierre has yet to comment definitively on when or if he will return to the UFC.