Silva has surgery on broken leg
Anderson Silva had successful surgery on his broken left leg Sunday morning, the UFC announced.
UFC orthopedic surgeon Dr. Steven Sanders performed the operation.
Silva was in a Las Vegas hospital after the surgery. He sustained the injury during Saturday night's loss to Chris Weidman in trying to retake the UFC middleweight title. Silva was injured when Weidman checked his leg kick.
"The successful surgery inserted an intramedullary rod into Anderson's left tibia," the UFC said in a statement. "The broken fibula was stabilized and does not require a separate surgery.
"Anderson will remain in the hospital for a short while, but no additional surgery is scheduled at this time. Recovery time for such injuries may vary between three and six months."
UFC president Dana White said it is possible that the 38-year-old Silva (33-6) could return but said it would be "a tough thing to come back from."
Silva holds the UFC record with 16 straight wins.
"Maybe he'll want to make a comeback, but who knows," White said. "We'll see what happens. I don't want to count him out. I don't want to count him in. The important thing is he gets the surgery and heals up."
Weidman (11-0) retained the title via injury TKO at 1:16 of the second round of their rematch. He defeated Silva for the title in July.
