Last month’s fight against Ebonie Cotton seemingly exacted a far greater price from Shannon Courtney. While it ended in a draw, the former WBA bantamweight champion faced a significant challenge outside the ring as she ended up in an operating theater once again to treat complications related to a previous ACL surgery.

“6 months ago I noticed a pain in the same knee I previously had ACL reconstruction surgery on,” Courtenay’s latest Instagram post read. “The pain was manageable up to 8 weeks ago when it hurt to even walk, so we went for a scan & found out that one of the screws from my previous surgery was actually coming out of my knee.”

“How I managed to finish the camp and actually fight whilst being in that much pain I’ll never know!” she added before thanking her promoters, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), its founders Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, and Mike Leanardi, MVP’s head of matchmaking, for their support.

The post featured images from the hospital, with Courtenay lying down in a bed. Additional images showed the screw that caused the pain.

While she wondered how she continued to train despite the pain, Courtenay revealed that she had to visit the doctor before the fights to get relief from swelling and pain.

The situation became even more complicated when the former champion revealed that cysts were discovered inside when the doctors cut her open to treat the loose screw.

While Courtenay remained optimistic about making a fast recovery, her predicament traces back to the days when she became a world champion for the first time.

Two years after she made her professional debut, on April 10, 2021, after ten grueling rounds, Courtenay defeated Ebanie Bridges by a unanimous decision to claim the WBA bantamweight title. She was scheduled to face Jamie Mitchell for his first title defense.

Ahead of the fight on August 14 that year, Courtenay suffered an injury while training. As a result, the fight was rescheduled to October 9. Courtenay then missed weight during weigh-ins and was stripped of her title. She lost the fight to Mitchell by a majority decision.

It took over 12 months before Courtenay could make a return. While she defeated Gemma Ruegg on points, the Hertfordshire native was once again sidelined for nearly 2 years.

Courtenay later shared that during the layoff, she struggled with mental health issues. She lost her father. She was admitted to a hospital, and at one point, her conditions became quite serious.

Shannon Courtenay fights to breathe new life into her career

Even when she returned, her career remained unsettled, as Courtenay suffered a loss to Catherine Tacone Ramos on October 19, 2024. After a win over Bec Connolly, she made a major career move by joining Jake Paul’s MVP and made her promotional debut against Jessica Radtke Maltez on December 16, 2025. Courtenay won the bout by a unanimous decision.

Her career received another boost when she stopped Sasha Booker on April 5 this year.

Courtenay, who turned 33 this past July, hopes to become a world champion again. She has also expressed a desire for a rematch with former opponent Ebanie Bridges, who is now also with the MVP.

Given those ambitions, dealing with another serious medical setback adds another obstacle to her comeback.

But the episode also shows a different side of Courtenay: her ability to keep pushing despite difficult circumstances.

Courtenay’s case may be unusual, but similar ACL hardware complications have been observed in other athletes. One report involved a 25-year-old recreational soccer player who had undergone ACL reconstruction. After many years, a fixation implant allegedly backed out and migrated through the knee. It eventually appeared as a collection under the skin on the opposite side of the knee.

While the doctors removed the fragment, the reconstructed ACL itself remained intact.

With her latest issue now apparently addressed, Courtenay would likely focus on making a full recovery before making her next move. As of now, a fight date or schedule does not appear to be on the record.