CONOR MCGREGOR was forced to go up a shoe size after withdrawing from his eagerly-anticipated cage comeback.

The Irishman was all set to make his long-awaited UFC return against Michael Chandler in June before breaking his left pinky toe in one of his final sparring sessions.

Conor McGregor was supposed to make his UFC return against Michael Chandler in JuneCredit: GETTY

The Irishman was forced out of his cage comeback due to a broken toeCredit: X@THENOTORIOUSMMA

McGregor revealed to SunSport that his toe injury has forced him to go up a shoe sizeCredit: THE SUN / CHISANGA MALATA

McGregor, 36, was forced to wear opened-toed slippers in the days after he shattered the toe in order to get around.

It wasn’t, however, too long before he was back accompanying his fancy suits with the finest-leather shoes.

But he was forced to wear a bigger size due to the injury and the stem cells he had injected in a bid to try to expedite his recovery and save UFC 303’s initial main event.

In an exclusive interview with SunSport in Marbella, McGregor said before pointing to his foot: “I’m good, very good.

“I’m a [shoe] size up right now.”

Former two-division champion McGregor hasn’t shown any issues moving around publicly and is already back doing road work.

The UFC’s poster boy continued: “I’m back in running runners. I can run, I can box.

“These shoes [are] a little bit tricky to get into – I just went up a size.”

It’s not known if McGregor has resumed throwing kicks with his left leg – which he shattered three years ago – since his toe injury.

But The Notorious insisted: “I’m good, my man. I’m well on my bike, I’m well on track.”

The UFC have yet to announce a new date for the rescheduled Return of the Mac, who has set his sights on closing out the promotion’s final pay-per-view card of 2024 on December 7.

“That sounds good to me,” he said when asked about potentially headlining UFC 310. “That sounds good to me brother.”

Fan favourite McGregor has two fights left on the lucrative contract he signed in September 2018.

Promising talks over a new bumper deal between the Dubliner and the UFC brass were held before in the build-up to his cancelled clash with Chandler.

But the former feather and lightweight king has hinted that they’ve since cooled.

“You know, the fight never happened,” McGregor said when pressed on negotiations. “So it’s just about getting the fight on.”

McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.

The UFC brass were seemingly hesitant to have him headline their final PPV of 2024, with president and CEO Dana White claiming “he won’t fight this year”.

White, however, changed his position after a private back-and-forth with McGregor and revealed late last month that news of his return is imminent.

The 55-year-old said: “Conor news coming up, we’ve got [Charles] Oliveira news coming up, we’ve got Chandler news coming up.

“All that good s**t. Coming soon.”

Conor McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his leg nearly three-and-a-half years agoCredit: AP