Comeback on hold: Valeria Loureda OUT of Bellator 238 due to injury – reports

Well, that didn't last long. Just hours after her participation was reported at Bellator 238 later this month, MMA star Valerie Loureda is believed to have been scratched from the card following news of an undisclosed injury.

Taekwondo expert Loureda, 21, is unbeaten in her first two Bellator bouts to date but will have to wait a little longer for her third after officials scrapped her scheduled bout with Tara Graff from the January 25 card, according to reports.  

News of her injury came just hours after Loureda was announced as part of the card where she would face the 1-1 Graff, on the back of her participation on the reality television show 'Exathlon' last year. 

The television program brought together a series of athletes, entertainers and celebrities where they were posed a series of challenges, with Loureda's 11-week participation coming to an end in November of last year - at which point she identified getting back into the cage to continue her developing mixed martial arts career as her chief priority.

Loureda is thought by many to be a potential breakthrough fighter in 2020, though thoughts of this may well be delayed depending on the severity of her ambiguous injury. 

Bellator 238 is to be headlined by a featherweight title bout between former UFC champion Cris Cyborg and Bellator's 145lbs queen Julia Budd, while Darrion Caldewell faces Adam Borics in a continuation of the organization's featherweight tournament.

MMA firebrand, and Conor McGregor training partner, Dillon Danis is also set to compete.