Anthony Joshua injury update makes Tyson Fury fight plan clear

Anthony Joshua will not return to the gym until July as he prepares to have surgery on his elbow.

The former two-time heavyweight champion has not fought since he was brutally knocked out inside five rounds at Wembley last September. He turned down a rematch with his fellow Brit who will now take on Oleksandr Usyk at the national stadium this summer.

Joshua had been expected to instead take on later this year and speculation ramped up when the latter returned to the gym last week with his trainer SugarHill Steward. But Joshua has now admitted he must first go under the knife, meaning a showdown with Fury is unlikely to take place before October.

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"When do you want me back, people?" he asked on DAZN before Canelo Alvarez took to the ring to face William Scull on Saturday night. "I'm trying to get my body right. I have got to actually have a little surgery on my elbow. "A small surgery sometime in May. I'm finalising the details... that will see me out of the gym for maybe six to eight weeks, and then when I'm healed, I will be back."

Last week, on the same day Dubois formally announced his fight with Usyk for all four world titles, Fury took to social media to post a video of himself with Steward. "Just in the gym," he said. "I just bumped into somebody you might know. You know what is coming."

Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn hopes Fury does return - to face his man. "Tyson’s got a history of teasing a few bits and pieces when boxing's hot," he told talkSPORT. "He would have watched [Chris] Eubank Jr vs [Conor] Benn on Saturday, and must have just thought to himself, 'I could be involved in something bigger.' Tyson's a competitor, he's still got plenty left in the tank and I expect him to be back. We just hope that's for an fight, but I guess that's down to him."

But Fury also has his sights set on a third fight with Usyk after losing twice to the Ukrainian last year. Asked about a potential third fight with Fury, Usyk teased: "Maybe it's Tyson Fury. Maybe it's Anthony Joshua. [Fury's] not retired. I think Tyson will continue training, continue , because he's a great man.

"Yes, Tyson Fury... a lot of speak - blah blah blah blah - but it's good. Great man, wow." Not one to stay silent, Fury clapped back on replying to the interview post, boasting: "Beat the f***er two times, the world knows the truth. Any time, any place. sucker UK next time 100k people."