The 29-year-old had been preparing to take on mandatory challenger Puello at Sheffield Arena on June 6 in what would have been the first defence of his WBC world title.

But Smith (19-0, 14 KOs), who won the belt via a stunning fifth-round stoppage of Subriel Matias in January, will have to wait a while longer for that occasion after this setback.

The Ring understands that the unspecified injury will likely keep Smith out of action for the next few months with a rearranged fight against Puello (24-1, 10 KOs) probable for September or October at the same venue.

Smith-Puello was set to headline a Matchroom card live on DAZN but the good news for the rest of the fighters involved is that the show will go on.

Now Ricardo Sandoval will defend his WBC and WBA flyweight titles against Galal Yafai in the new main event. The pair were due to meet in the show's chief support but the fight has now been promoted to the top slot.

Elsewhere on the card, Josh Padley will defend his European junior lightweight title against Aqib Fiaz while English junior lightweight champion Ibrahim Nadim faces Ibraheem Sulaimaan in his maiden title defense.