Rhea Ripley Injury Update: When Is Mami Set To Return To WWE?

Rhea Ripley has been out of action for a little while now due to a shoulder injury. The timeframe of her injury has been disputed though. WWE is making us believe that it took place when Liv Morgan attacked her backstage. Ripley was holding her shoulder when the fight was broken up. Plus, she did hit her shoulder pretty hard during the attack. However, most of this attack looked pretty standard with relatively safe things taking place compared to what Rhea might do normally. This is why the Rhea Ripley injury is so interesting to people.

We know it’s a shoulder injury, but most feel she was hurt prior to WrestleMania 40. It could have happened shortly before her match with Becky Lynch at the show of shows. WWE Superstars are known for pushing themselves, especially during WrestleMania season. Mami was involved in a top program on the card and would walk into the event having been the WWE Women’s World Champion for a year.

Lynch could have called out, and WWE could have always replaced her. However, you cannot lose the long-reigning champion just before the biggest event of the year. Ironically, Lynch was actually sick heading into the show and would wrestle through it. Many believe Ripley did the same thing, as her shoulder was either hurt just before the match or perhaps during her match with Becky.

Since she was heading into a program with Liv Morgan next anyway, it only made sense for her to take Ripley out. It would get major revenge and Rhea could always resume her role in the story when she returned. Speaking of her return, when is Ripley set to come back?

RHEA RIPLEY INJURY UPDATE

Most would assume that she would be going under the knife, but the Rhea Ripley injury specifically does not require that. While it is possible surgery could fix some things, you never want to start opening someone up if you do not have to. Not only that, but the recovery time is far longer. Most shoulder surgery recovery times range from 6 to 9 months, depending on the person and the severity.

This is why Ripley is currently just doing rehab on her shoulder rather than surgery. The idea is that by doing proper rehabilitation, they can fix the problem completely without many issues. WWE is not going to rush her back, as that can be a good way of forcing her into something her body is not ready for. That is a good way to make the problem worse and most certainly need surgery.

Several wrestlers have come back too early only to get hurt again, just ask Kurt Angle about that one.

As of now, the Wrestling Observer among other outlets claims that Ripley is not scheduled to wrestle at the WWE SummerSlam PLE. However, she might still appear on the show in a storyline capacity. This would make sense, as WWE is already advertising Ripley for a meet-and-greet event in Cleveland, where SummerSlam will be. That said, she’ll be in town so WWE is most certainly going to do something with her there.

That does not mean she’ll wrestle or get involved physically. Similar to Dominik Mysterio, WWE might have her back on television in more of an acting rather than a physical capacity at first. This is only if she is not cleared in time for the event. If she is, she might have her first match back at SummerSlam.

WHY SHE IS AVOIDING SURGERY

The Rhea Ripley injury is not exactly uncommon. Shoulder injuries that are considered relatively light can still cause problems. However, not every problem has to be fixed with surgery.

Some might assume that if she can just do rehab, why can she not still wrestle? After all, she is not having surgery and recovering from it, right? Plenty of people have shoulder issues yet still work in their sport.

The problem with this ideology is that one has to consider what she does for a living, along with the injury itself. For example, one might have a problem with their foot. You can likely avoid surgery on it by doing physical therapy. However, you’re still walking on your foot every day despite that. There is obviously still an issue here, which is why one might be given something to prevent further damage, like a walking boot.

That said, the shoulder is an interesting area of the body. While our core, the abdominal region, takes a lot of punishment with pretty much any physical activity, the shoulders experience a lot too. Shoulder issues can cause problems with strength and movement, crippling one’s ability to do specific tasks. A wrestler uses most of their body, but the shoulders are a major need.

Ripley is also a powerhouse type of performer, meaning her shoulders are doing a ton of work.

Forcing her to work with a shoulder issue only risks causing the injury to get worse. At the same time, she’ll be doing rehab which should allow her to get back in the ring without any complications. At least, that would be the goal here.