Conor McGregor to return to training in nine months as fourth Dustin Poirier fight is lined up by UFC boss Dana White

CONOR MCGREGOR will resume full training in nine months' time, UFC chief Dana White has revealed.

The UFC's poster boy shattered his left leg last month in his Las Vegas trilogy fight with fellow fan favourite Dustin Poirier, which he lost via first-round TKO.

McGregor, 33, has already resumed physical activity following successful surgery and will be cleared to resume full training in April.

During an appearance on White said: "As far as I'm concerned, Conor is out for a year.

"The doctor said it will be nine months before he starts training again, we're looking at it as a year.

"I'm not even thinking about it."

The UFC's first simultaneous two-weight world champion broke his leg seconds before the end of the first round of his rubber match with Poirier.

White believes the manner in which the fight ended warrants a fourth encounter between the pair, saying: "The fight didn't get finished.

"You can't have a fight finish that way. So we'll see how this whole thing plays out. Who knows how long Conor is out [for]?

"Poirier will do his thing until Conor is ready."

The doctor said it will be nine months before he starts training again, we're looking at it as a year.

Dana White on Conor McGregor's return

Former interim lightweight champion Poirier is open to sharing the cage with The Notorious again but believes their rivalry is over from a competitive standpoint.

He told The Daily Mail: "I think I have proven myself the better fighter twice in a row here but we'll see what happens in the future (about a fourth fight).

"I don't know when he's coming back, he has a long recovery, a long road ahead of him.

"I'm next in line for a title shot, it's hard to call what's going to happen in the future, I don't know."

The exact moment McGregor shattered his tibia and fibula is still unknown, although the Irishman recently claimed he went into the Sin City series decider with 'multiple stress fractures'.

In a six-minute-long Instagram video, he said: "The leg is better than ever.

"I was injured going into the fight. People are asking me, ‘When was the leg broke?

"At what point did the leg break?’ Ask Dana White, ask the UFC, ask Dr. Davidson, the head doctor of the UFC.

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"They knew, I had stress fractures in my leg going into that cage.