AEW's Tony Khan Provides Update On Timeline For Swerve Strickland Return From Injury

After sustaining a broken femur, AEW star Kota Ibushi is expected to be out of action for two years. In contrast, AEW President Tony Khan says Swerve Strickland, who had long battled a torn meniscus, will be back in a wrestling ring sooner rather than later.

"Swerve Strickland as a former world champion, a former world tag team champion, one of the great AEW stars, is somebody that absolutely we're tracking his progress and eager to have him back," Khan said on the AEW WrestleDream media call. "I definitely think Swerve will be back long before Kota Ibushi. Swerve was dealing with a serious injury, but not as long-term of an outlook. Swerve hopefully can come back relatively soon.

"It's not the kind of situation where you'd expect him to be out for a year or more than a year, anything like that. Thankfully, Swerve, it's a shorter timetable. I can't say exactly when because I'm not a doctor and also I don't want to put words in his mouth for where he's at in the healing, but based on the conversations I've had, and even today tracking on that, I think he's on a good pace."

At AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, Strickland was written off of AEW television by losing a Unified Championship match to Kazuchika Okada, then suffering an attack at the hands of "The Rainmaker" and a returning Wardlow. Days after, Strickland appeared to undergo knee surgery.

Strickland reportedly sustained his injury back in 2019 while training at the WWE Performance Center. Opting out of surgery at the time, Strickland instead rehabbed it for a month before returning to WWE television. More recently, Strickland has reportedly received help from the medical team of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, a franchise in which Khan also serves as an executive.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit AEW with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.