Ed Soares: Anderson Silva Is Already Riding A Bike In Physical Therapy

Speculation as to when longtime former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will return to the Octagon has been running wild ever since “The Spider “had successful surgery to repair the broken tibia and fibula he suffered against Chris Weidman at UFC 168.

Silva has recently discussed boxing Roy Jones Jr. in their long-rumored match-up before returning to MMA, but it’s clear that “The Spider” has several hurdles to clear before either of those days come.

As far as his recovery progress goes, apparently things are going quite well. His manager and friend Ed Soares appeared on tonight’s edition of AXS TV’s “Inside MMA” to give a positive outlook on Silva’s status:

“Yeah, he’s focused on coming back. He’s doing physical therapy. Last week I was with him at physical therapy and he was basically riding a bike, so he’s already riding a bike in physical therapy. So they’re saying that probably about another 3 weeks, another two-and-a-half to three weeks, he’ll be able to be walking around without crutches. So, his recovery is coming back really good, he’s in good spirits, and I believe we’ll see him back.”

That sounds like a very good start for Silva, but Bas Rutten soon asked Soares when Silva would be kicking again, to which he replied:

“They said that he’d be able to start training in approximately six months, so I would say, you know, the end of June, in June sometime he’d probably be able to train. The recovery is going really well, but uh, I still think it’s too early to say when he’s gonna be training again. He’s still Anderson Silva, he’s the greatest of all time for a reason. He definitely pushes his limits, and he does that with everything. He’s always going to do whatever he can to make sure he’s a hundred percent and be back at a hundred.”

Pushing his broken leg to the limit may not be a good thing for the aging Silva, who was initially thought to be most likely done fighting at the time of his injury. But all signs point to him being more than determined to make a return to the cage, and it sounds like his physical therapy is progressing nicely.

There’s still a very long road to climb to get back to fighting the best middleweights in the world, however. In his absence, the title picture will be figured out sometime this summer when Weidman defends the belt against the surging Vitor Belfort.

If “The Spider” does make a full recovery and is able to make it back to the Octagon later this year, it’s tough to say that the UFC would deny arguably the greatest fighter of all time one more shot at the belt.

With their top two superstars out of the sport for now and two more champions on the shelf with injuries, the UFC can’t deny Silva’s electric drawing power. After such a devastating setback, would he be ready for a challenge of that magnitude?