Aspinall says he may need surgery on both eyes

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is still far from a return to the Octagon after suffering an eye injury in his title fight against Ciryl Gane in October.

Aspinall couldn't continue after receiving a double eye poke in the first round of the UFC 321 main event on Oct. 25 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The bout was ruled a no-contest.

Aspinall said Tuesday on "The Ariel Helwani Show" that he isn't cleared to train yet and is dealing with lingering symptoms from the poke, including double vision and dizziness.

"Obviously, I want to get back as soon as possible," Aspinall said. "That's the plan. But I'm also aware that with eyes, you gotta be careful. They don't really know when I'm gonna be back at the moment. I'm still not even cleared to train or do anything."

Aspinall added that doctors have said he may need to undergo surgery on both eyes.

"They're talking about doing surgery on both eyes," Aspinall said. "They're talking about injections. I have to get an injection in the eyeball soon. So, I'm not looking forward to that. I don't really know at this point. I don't know."

The UFC plans to schedule a rematch between Aspinall and Gane as soon as possible.

Aspinall made his first undisputed title defense against Gane. The 32-year-old Englishman was promoted to heavyweight champion in June when Jon Jones retired.