Anderson Silva family

MMA legend Anderson Silva will be back in the ring soon, so says the surgeon who placed pins in his fractured leg last week.

The Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion shattered the tibia and fibula bones in his left leg during the main event of a UFC 168 match against Chris Weidman last week.

During the match on Saturday, Silva threw a low kick which was checked by Weidman. His leg snapped in half as it impacted Weidman’s lower leg.

Watch a GIF of the moment of impact after the break (no pun intended). Don’t click if shattered bones makes your stomach turn.

Anderson Silva family

Dr. Steven Sanders, the UFC’s orthopedic surgeon, during a conference call, said Silva should be able to fight again. He said Silva was anxious to know when he would be able to get back in the ring.

Silva was all smiles in a family photo uploaded to his Twitter page yesterday. “I want to say thank you to all my fans and friends to support me at this moment,I wish a great and happy 2014 to all,” he tweeted.

Silva’s gruesome injury was almost identical to the bone snapping injury that felled Louisville’s Kevin Ware during the NCAA regional finals against Duke in March.

Ware, who was kicked in the same shin during a Dec. 17 game against Missouri State, is out for the rest of the season. Prior to his latest injury, Ware averaged only 5.9 minutes and 1.7 points.

He won’t be missed. “Ware is not a factor on our basketball team,” Cardinals coach Rick Pitino said. “He hasn’t been this season, and we’ve been playing without him.”

Anderson Silva