Eddie Wineland scratched from WEC 41 fight against Frank Gomez with an elbow injury

Former WEC bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland (14-6-1) has suffered a right elbow injury and has been forced to withdraw from his 135-pound contest against Frank Gomez (6-1) at WEC 41: "Brown vs. Faber 2," according to NWI.com.

It’s one that he has apparently had issues with in the past.

Here’s a snip from him:

"It's a recurring injury. This time, it's been a little more severe than normal. I'm not 100 percent sure, but I'm pretty sure it's some kind of tendonitis. It gets to the point where I can't even pick up a bottle to take a drink. If I relax it and leave it alone for a little while, it'll go away. But as soon as I start activity again, it starts to flare up."

No replacement for Wineland is know at this time; however, the promotion is currently looking for a worthy opponent who is willing to step in and take on Gomez on short notice at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif., on June 7.

It had been more than two years since Wineland last fought for the promotion before he made his return to the WEC cage last month at "Torres vs. Mizugaki." Unfortunately for him, his homecoming wasn’t a memorable one -- Wineland was submitted in just over a minute via rear naked choke by one of the division’s rising contenders, Rani Yahya.

It was a crushing defeat after putting together back-to-back stoppage victories over Jason Tabor and Wade Choate on the smaller circuit during his absence to earn another shot with the Zuffa-owned promotion.

The good news is that the former champ will surely get another chance to prove himself in the vastly improved WEC 135-pound division as soon as he is fully recovered.

WEC 41 is set to feature a featherweight championship rematch between current title holder Mike Thomas Brown and former division kingpin, Urijah "The California Kid" Faber. Jose Aldo, Cub Swanson, Manny Gamburyan, Jens Pulver and others are expected to be in action on the card as well.

As usual, the main card will air live on the Versus network on fight night. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for the latest WEC 41 news and rumors.