Tyson Fury will need at least 90 days to recover from the cut he suffered in sparring, which forced him to pull out of the fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
That is the verdict of his former cutman Jorge Capetillo, who helped the Gypsy King with a similar injury earlier in his career.
To the disappointment of boxing fans around the world, Fury withdrew from the undisputed clash against Usyk on Friday.
The pair were set to lock horns in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 17, putting their belts and unbeaten professional records on the line.
Tyson Fury will need at least 90 days to recover from the cut he has suffered
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But a freak cut above Fury's right eye means the fight has had to be postponed until later in the year at the earliest.
Fury sustained a similar injury above the same eye during his fight against Otto Wallin in 2019.
Cutman Capetillo was on hand during the bout to help the Brit overcome the nasty gash and beat Wallin.
So there are not many better people to ask regarding the length of time Fury will need to recover from his latest blow.
Capetillo says it will be a minimum of three months before the cut will heal enough to enable him to fight again.
He told Betway: "I would say it will take 90 days at least to recover from a cut in sparring.
"Hopefully the fight can happen in the summer because it’s such unfortunate news.
"The cut needs to heal really good and then Tyson can get back in action, back in training and get back in camp so it will be at least a few months for sure."
Footage has leaked appearing to show the moment Fury was cut, accidentally being elbowed by a Croatian heavyweight reported to be Agron Smakici.
Capetillo believes there is no way Fury could have gone through with the February 17 date after suffering the injury.
He says freak incidents can happen, especially in preparation for a fight the size of Fury-Usyk due to the quality of sparring opponents used.
Capetillo added: "Accidents can happen in sparring, and this is what has happened with Tyson so he will need time to heal.
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Tyson Fury was treated for a similar cut by Jorge Capetillo in 2019
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"It will now reopen during the fight if they continued into the fight so now, he needs time out to make sure it doesn’t open up with a first punch from Oleksandr Usyk.
"Obviously during camp, sparring sessions when getting ready for a fight of this calibre means you bring the best sparring partners you can and work hard in sparring but sometimes it’s very tough and things like this can happen.
"We always try to prevent that and make sure the fighter has a healthy camp, but this is part of the game.
"This is a fight that requires the best of the best with the best sparring partners.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk were set to fight on February 17
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"When there’s a cut happened by a punch, the opponent can get a TKO if the fight gets stopped so all of that stuff is important to have precaution.
"I know how hard Tyson was working for this fight. His work ethic, his discipline, he was working really hard like always and was so hungry for this fight. But these things happen, and cuts happen."
