Belfast fighter Michael Conlan has been forced to pull out of his world title eliminator against Isaac Dogboe on 5 December because of an ankle injury.
Conlan was set to face the former WBO super-bantamweight champion in London and was hoping victory would land him a world title shot in March.
“Absolutely devastated to announce I will no longer be fighting December 5,” said Conlan, 28, on Twitter.
Conlan said he “ruptured” his anterior talofibular ligament on Wednesday.
“Back home now recovering. Doc said I’ll be out for 8-12 weeks but I’ll be back sooner, just watch.”
The 2012 Olympic bronze medallist said that he sustained the injury in training.
Conlan was moving down from featherweight for what would have been a super-bantamweight contest against the Ghanaian-British fighter and was hoping victory would land him a world title shot on St Patrick’s Day in March.
The unbeaten 28-year-old secured his 14th consecutive career win by stopping Sofiane Takoucht in August.
Conlan said earlier this year that he would have expected to fight for a world title at Belfast’s Falls Park in the summer if it had not been for the coronavirus pandemic.
Six of Conlan’s 14 professional fights have been held in New York, with two bouts taking place in Belfast, including a sellout Falls Park show near his childhood home in the west of the city, in the summer of 2019
SOURCE: BBC.