Tuesday night tragic news surfaced that Anderson Silva had been rushed to the hospital after falling ill. Unfortunately for the former middleweight champion, he was forced to withdraw from his UFC 198 bout with Uriah Hall this weekend due to gallbladder issues.

On Wednesday, Silva underwent surgery to have his gallbladder removed, and was comfortably resting at the hospital with hopes of being released on Friday.

Now, the UFC has released a statement on Silva’s condition, via UFC.com:

Earlier this week, medical personnel determined that Anderson Silva was suffering from inflammation of the gallbladder, a serious ailment that forced him off the UFC 198 card. As a result of the condition, Silva had successful, minimally invasive surgery in Brazil today to remove the gallbladder. He is now resting comfortably following the procedure.

The recovery period following the surgery is estimated at 4-6 weeks and Silva will be reexamined by doctors before being cleared to return to training.

Silva thanks all of his fans around the world for their support and words of encouragement during this time.