Surgeries, infected fingers and a whole bunch of torn ACLs. Here's a quick rundown on who's out with injury and how long it will be before we can expect to see them back. 

Josh Hinger 

The 2018 World No-Gi champion battled through a laundry list of injuries to capture his third World Championship title in a row, including a “popped knee from the match with Lovato, pulled pec muscle, tendinitis in both elbows," and what he describes as "a decrepit rotten ear from training that bled for a month.” But possibly the grossest of all, he has an an infected finger that was caused by a tiny cut from Matheus Diniz’s teeth during a particularly frantic scramble. 

“It blew up about three days after the tournament,” says Hinger, who will miss Europeans in January but is aiming for a return on Feb. 9 at the 2nd ADCC North American Trials. 

ETA for return: Feb 9

Leandro Lo 

After dislocating his shoulder in the 2018 World Championship final against Mahamed Aly back in June, Leandro Lo underwent a long and difficult road to recovery after suffering what was by far the worst injury of his career. Lo's physiotherapy sponsor came through and got him back on the mats, and he started training properly just some months later. 

Right now Lo's projected return date is in February for a super fight in Brazil against Nicholas Meregali. We're waiting on word to see if he's going to compete at Euros, or if he's eyeing any other warm-ups before his big return. 

ETA for return: Feb 23 

Nathan Mendelsohn 

The last time we saw Mendelsohn in action was all the way back at Worlds last year. The reason the middleweight has been out for so long is because, like many other people on this list, he injured his knee. "I hurt it in training a little the week before Worlds, then tore it completely in the first round against Gabriel Fonseca," says Mendelsohn. 

Mendelsohn at 2018 Pans. Photo: Kenny Jewel

The Coalition 95 team member will return to full training soon, as Jan. 5 marks six months since he got operated on. "I already started training light and have been ramping it up, feeling good," he says. He aims to get a few warm-up events in before IBJJF Pans in March. "I can't wait to show the world Nathan Mendlesohn 2.0!" 

ETA for return: Mar 23 

Edwin Najmi 

It’s been almost three months since Edwin Najmi injured his ACL. The damage was done at World Series of Grappling 2, during a scrappy match with Tarsis Humphreys. Najmi won, but the injury took him out of the tournament and off the mats since. 

Edwin at WSOG 2. Photo: Vichy Truong

Luckily, the Gracie Barra black belt didn’t need surgery and has been able to get by with just rehab. “I’m thinking I’ll be back for training in a couple weeks,” says Najmi, “and shooting for a return to competition in March.” 

ETA for return: March 

Talita Alencar 

While not a traditional injury per se, Alencar is going to be out of action as she waits on a much-needed surgery. It’s not a knee injury like everybody else on this list though; she needs to fix a deviated septum. While it may not sound that serious, it’s bad enough that it affects her breathing and ability to train, and has led to her getting repeated infections. 

Alencar revealed to us last November shortly after winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro that she’ll likely be out until Worlds in June, meaning the 2017 world champ will miss the crucial major IBJJF gi tournaments that run from January to May. 

ETA for return: June 

PJ Barch 

After injuring his knee at ADCC Trials in November, Barch discovered that he had torn his ACL. The timing couldn’t have been worse, because it took him out of the Nov. 10 edition of KASAI Pro, where he was lined up to appear in a main card superfight. 

Barch in action at KASAI Pro 3. 

The injury also kept Barch out of action at the No-Gi Worlds in December, but he was right there on the sidelines wearing a knee brace and coaching his teammates. Barch is booked in for surgery in early January, meaning it’s going to be about six months before we see the 10th Planet black belt back in competition. “I’ll be back with the fire,” he says. 

ETA for return: June 

Alexander Trans

Trans has suffered with non-stop knee problems for more than two years. Not one, but two botched knee surgeries severely hampered his ability to train and compete. With his leg practically hanging on by a thread, Trans still went on to win the Abu Dhabi heavyweight King of Mats in April 2018, a phenomenal achievement given just how bad his knee was. 

Trans underwent a major surgery in November, a reconstruction of the posterior cruciate ligament, lateral collateral ligament and posterolateral corner. The Danish black belt will likely be out for another year, but is hoping that his knee problems will finally be resolved. 

ETA for return: 2020