Vasyl Lomachenko's Rehab Going Better Than Expected, Could Fight In November

World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko's rehab is going better than expected and he could return to action in the ring earlier than expected.

Lomachenko (11-1) made history last month when he defeated Jorge Linares in the 10th round to win the WBA title, becoming the quickest three-weight champion in boxing history in the process as he just required 12 professional fights.

The Ukrainian was expected to fight in Los Angeles on August 25 soon after with a potential title unification clash against World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight champion Ray Beltran (35-7-1).

However, it soon emerged that Lomachenko, who injured his right shoulder during the second round against Linares only to pop it back in the socket, suffered a torn labrum which would require an arthroscopic surgery.

"There is clear evidence that he had a recent dislocation of the shoulder, and the most common injury that happens when there is a dislocation is a tear in the labrum," orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache said before the surgery. "His is pretty extensive. A typical tear usually goes from about 2 o'clock if you're looking at the face of a clock down to about 6 o'clock. His goes almost all the way around. I would say he has significant instability of his right shoulder."

Depending on how his rehabbing and recovery went, ElAttrache gave Lomachenko a timeline that would see him return to training in October before possibly fighting again two months afterward with the latter's promoter Bob Arum planning for him to fight on a Dec. 8 card.

However, Arum said Wednesday that the 30-year-old's rehab is actually going better than expected and he could fight as early as November now. Lomachenko is currently in Ukraine undergoing physical therapy.

"Everything is going great with Lomachenko," Arum said, as per ESPN. "They have the rehab person in Los Angeles working with the rehab person in Ukraine and coordinating the rehab [through video conferencing]."

"What they've said, anecdotally, is that they've never seen a rehab go as well for that type of operation, like Loma is superhuman. We expect without any question that he will be back in November or December."

While the targeted return date for the pound-for-pound king is still Dec. 8, Arum adds that there is no rush for him to come back early and aggravate himself. However, if he's fully recovered, November could yet be the plan.

"There's no rush with Loma, but obviously, he loves to go in the ring and fight, and if he's totally recovered and can go in November why wait until December?" Arum explained. "He can go in November if he's healthy and then we can get him going again in February."

The next fight for Lomachenko will likely still be Beltran, as the Mexican will now be defending his WBO belt against an opponent to be decided on August 25.