Georges St-Pierre's Doctor Says He Expects a Full Recovery in 6-9 Months

Despite initial reports suggesting that Georges St-Pierre's recovery process would require him to miss the majority of next year, St-Pierre's physician, Dr. Sebastian Simard, expects the recovery time to be much shorter. 

St-Pierre and Simard held a press conference to discuss the extent of his knee injury, and MMAFighting.com revealed the recovery process via Twitter.

"GSP's doctor: I'm expecting a full recovery for GSP in six to nine months," MMAFighting.com wrote.

St-Pierre was originally scheduled to face Nick Diaz at UFC 143, after Diaz provoked the champion in his post-fight interview, claiming he was scared to face the former Strikeforce welterweight champ. 

St-Pierre's injury has now forced him off of the card, which will now feature an interim title bout between Diaz and Carlos Condit to headline the event.

Simard elaborated on the injury and said that surgery was mandatory. 

"There's no way he can compete with the problem on the right knee," Simard said. "The technique that's going to be used is the technique of anatomical ACL reconstruction, which is the best technique for this kind of injury."

Although St-Pierre will be out of action for the foreseeable future, Simard expects him to make a full recovery and return to the octagon at 100 percent. 

"His recovery rate is completely off the charts," he said.  

"He has an amazing genetics and he has extraordinary physical capabilities, and I know Georges has the discipline and the determination that's gonna allow him to be back to the same level of competition that he was before the injury."