Anthony Joshua says he will undergo elbow surgery this month before making a return to the ring.
The two-time world heavyweight champion has been out of action since suffering a devastating fifth-round knockout against Daniel Dubois at Wembley in September.
Joshua, 35, said he was “trying to get my body right” before making a comeback.
“I’ve got to have a little surgery on my elbow, a small surgery, sometime in May,” Joshua told broadcaster Dazn.
He added: “That will see me out of the gym for maybe six to eight weeks and then, as soon as I’m healed, I’ll be back.”
Joshua, who has won 28 of his 32 fights, was at ringside in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday to watch Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez defeat William Scull on points.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said in April that he remains confident a fight between Joshua and fellow two-time heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury could still happen.
Hearn said all it would take is a direct message on social media between the fighters – despite Fury announcing in January that he had retired from boxing.
Joshua won Olympic super heavyweight gold at London 2012 before winning his first world title in 2016.
The Briton unified the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles in 2018 and reclaimed them from Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, before being dethroned by Oleksandr Usyk in 2021.
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