John Cena Suffers Herniated Disk, Will Need Surgery

We reported earlier that John Cena was having serious problems with his neck that is causing numbness in one of his arms. Cena had an MRI done on Saturday before the Raw house show at Madison Square Garden and when he returned to the arena he was describing his neck as being messed up pretty badly to those around him. Cena's neck issues was the reason the company booked him in tags over the weekend.

It was announced on RAW tonight that John Cena would need surgery. They used the Batista/Cena SummerSlam match as the storyline angle for the injury. I can tell you that the injury did NOT happen at SummerSlam and the neck had been bothering him before that match. If surgery is required, he'll be out months, possibly up to a full year depending on the extent of the injury. For those wondering, John was backstage at RAW last night.

Here is a recap from our RAW report of the segment where they confirmed our report earlier here on the site that he was injured:

Mike Adamle is out. He wants us to turn our attention to the tron to look at some footage from Summerslam, John Cena vs. Batista. They specifically highlight that mid-air counter into a powerbomb. Adamle says Cena suffered a herniated disc in his neck as a result. An MRI revealed the extent of the damage and doctors believe that he will require surgery and will be out indefinitely, so he won't be in the Championship Scramble at Unforgiven. Rey Mysterio who hasn't been seen in weeks will take his place in the match.

WWE.com issued this statement regarding the injury, as well as posting comments from Cena:

Three-time WWE Champion John Cena will be out of action indefinitely with a herniated disk in his neck. Requiring surgery, this injury is the result of several Batista Bombs delivered by The Animal at SummerSlam.

According to WWE's Dr. Chris Amann, who reviewed the MRI results with Cena, the injury sustained by the Chain Gang Commander was considerably worse than originally thought with large disk herniation.

"It needs to be dealt with because I lost most of the feeling in my right arm and am having pain in my shoulder," Cena told WWE.com. "I'm losing 20 percent of my strength per day. If I don't do anything about it, the injury will end up rupturing and then the surgery will be more difficult. It's not easy, because surgery never is."

Last year, Cena missed considerable time when he tore his pectoral muscle after receiving an RKO by Randy Orton on an announce table. He later made a remarkable return to the ring months ahead of schedule at the Royal Rumble this past January.

"It's a different injury than the pectoral tear because that was more of a muscle injury; this is concerning my bones, which has a lot less blood flow than muscle tissue. It also has to do with my neck, which is a very fragile area," Cena described.

"Every moment I stay away from the table is another moment something bad can happen. The disk is so bulged out and inflamed that any sudden move could make it worse."

But when it comes to the Chain Gang Commander, the pain associated with this type of injury is perhaps second only to the anguish of being forced away from sports-entertainment ? his home. Still, Cena recognizes what he needs to do, even if it means stepping away from the ring for some time.

"You can either do one or two things: You can be upset or pout or you can know what to do to get better," Cena said. "I'm already in the mode of getting the surgery as quick as I can."

He continued, "In the last ten months, I've really focused on functional strength training and I'm stronger than I've ever been. My goal is to talk to the neurosurgeon about how quickly I can get back to full-throttle training and getting back into the ring. And that's the ultimate goal ? to be strong as I can and get back into the ring as soon as possible."

Cena is scheduled to see doctors on Tuesday morning with neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Maroon at the University of Pittsburgh. Be sure to check back with WWE.com for updates on the condition of the Chain Gang Commander and his imminent surgery.

John Cena was initially scheduled to be examined by Dr. Lloyd Youngblood in San Antonio, TX on Wednesday. Youngblood has performed neck surgery on many WWE stars including Steve Austin, Edge, and Lita. There is a fear that Cena's injury is far worse than just the herniated disc mentioned on RAW.

UPDATE 8-26-2008 1:33 PM EST: Dr. Joseph Maroon, Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Team Neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is scheduled to perform surgery on John Cena's neck today. WWE.com hopes to have post-surgical interviews with both Dr. Maroon and John Cena later today. Despite the setback, Cena plans on returning to the ring as soon as possible.

"You can either do one of two things: be upset or know what you can do to get better," said Cena, "the ultimate goal is to be as strong as I can and get back into the ring as soon as possible."