Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh says his April return to action is now unlikely.
Kavanagh says he doesn’t know the reason for the delay and also showed concern for McGregor’s mental health.
However, the Dublin native was pleased to hear McGregor is training frequently.
“We were hoping for April. That was the hope. That was what we were told. And now it seems to be the summertime,” Kavanagh told Ariel Helwani. “I don’t know (why). That’s literally what we were having a bit of a back and forward (about) today.”
He added: “Well, I was (worried about his mental health) too, I’m not going to lie. But hearing him today, he’s out there finding this great group of training partners — at least he’s doing that.”
“Hey, it’s not quite the same as getting in to compete in front of a large crowd, but at least he’s getting training in, and that’s so important. We heard Volk talk about that, ‘Keep me busy,’ and all that. So I love to hear that he’s training hard with these guys."
McGregor attended Tyson Fury’s fight with Francis Ngannou last month and said April was his target for a return when speaking to TNT Sports.
“But look, and this is what I was saying to him as well — yeah, OK, it’s a knockback if we’re hearing it was April but now it’s July, but it’s not the end of the world,” Kavanagh continued.
“It is an extra couple of months. It’s not great. But hey, you’re enjoying your training at the moment. Let’s just keep that going.
“But the sport, you are around for such a short time as compared to — well, I’m not going to try to make a comparison to other sports or whatever, but like our careers, we can do this for decades. For fighters, is a short time.”
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