WWE Status Updates On Samoa Joe And Xavier Woods

Xavier Woods could be returning to the WWE ring ahead of schedule.

Woods was scheduled to be evaluated by doctors in July, but the evaluation date has been moved up to May, according to Reddit user looselipsbackstage, who has recently revealed scoops on Lana and Rusev, WWE Survivor Series and more.

It was noted that having the evaluation date pushed up usually means a talent is ahead of schedule when it comes to recovering from their injury.

Woods has been out of action since suffering an Achilles tear at a WWE live event in Sydney, Australia last month, and at first it was said the injury was very bad. Woods underwent surgery on October 25. It was reported that he would likely be out of action until the summer of 2020 at the earliest, meaning he would miss WrestleMania 36.

Woods spoke with Chuck Carroll of CBS Sports last week and said there was no actual timetable for his ring return. He said, "There's no real timetable on when I'll be back. It could be 5 months. It could be 9 months. There's a lot of wiggle room in there."

On a related note, looselipsbackstage noted that Samoa Joe is scheduled to be evaluated by WWE doctors again on Monday, December 30. There's no word yet on when Joe will return from the thumb injury, but WWE doctors will take another look at his injury at the end of this month when WWE is at the XL Center in Hartford, CT for RAW.

As noted, WWE announced this week that Joe will remain on the RAW announce team with Vic Joseph and WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler, until he's cleared to return to the ring. Dio Maddin is returning to in-ring training at the WWE Performance Center as he wants to pursue his career as a Superstar.

Stay tuned for updates on when Joe and Woods will return to action.