Finn Balor Talks His Injury Being Worse Than Originally Believed, Earliest He Can Return, Rehab
On episode 133 of The Ross Report, the first WWE Universal Champion, Finn Bálor, provided the listeners of 'Slobberknocker Audio' with an update on his injury status.
According to Bálor, his condition was much worse than the doctors originally believed. Apparently, the doctors found bones fragments during the surgery and gave them to Bálor in a jar.
"Obviously, we get a lot of scans beforehand, which it showed a pretty good labrum tear, but I guess, when they went in with the scope, they found, I guess, a labrum tear that was, like, 180 degrees, which was, like, twice as big as they expected. Plus, there were some bicep issues, some pectoral issues. There were actually some bones broken in there, so they were kind enough to give me the bones in a jar, which I have on my mantle right now. It's a nice little decoration."
The man behind 'The Demon King' divulged that he is going to be out of action for six months, as the original prognosis of a four to six month healing process was determined before the doctors learned the full extent of his injuries. Bálor insinuated that he hopes to return for WrestleMania 33.
"I guess the original diagnosis was four to six months, but, I guess, when they found out the extra problems in there, they said it's going to be a hard six. Now, I could try and shave some time off that, but I'm not going to. If I'm ready before six months, I'm going to make sure, when the time comes around and six months is there, I'm going to be better than ever."
The former Prince Devitt said he was "blown away" by the way WWE handled the situation, as he received outstanding medical attention and the operation was arranged almost immediately.
"Oh my God, the way the WWE treated this situation has just blown me away. Obviously, I only found out on Monday before RAW, at 5 pm, that I was going to need surgery. And then, by, I think, 9 pm, they had it all set up that I was getting operated [on] the next afternoon, so I had to check out of the hotel at 3 am. We had a 5 am flight to Birmingham, Alabama. We're in the hospital by, I want to say, 9 am, getting prepped for the surgery. So my hat's off to WWE. They couldn't have done a better job making sure, like, not only was I getting the best treatment, but obviously the most prompt as well."
Bálor claimed that he will complete two sessions of rehab every day for four weeks. At that time, he will be reassessed.
"I'll be doing two sessions of rehab at the Performance Center. You know we've got an incredible medical team down at the Performance Center in Orlando, so I'll be in with those in the morning, I'll rest for lunch, [and] come back in in the afternoon. That's the plan for the next four weeks, I think. And then, we're going to reassess. I'll probably head back out to Birmingham to do some stuff out there with their Champion Rehabilitation. That's what they told me."
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Source: The Ross Report