WWE Superstar Cesaro went down late last year with a shoulder injury, which only added to the growing list of injured WWE Superstars of that year. The injury bug has continued through to 2016 with the likes of John Cena going down. Cesaro had surgery to repair his shoulder months ago, and was given a six month prognosis for recovery. Of course, this all depends on how well your body recovers, as many could heal quicker or take more time. It really depends on the person.
The hope was that Cesaro could be back in time for WrestleMania 32 , but it was very uncertain for him. Cesaro mentioned in an interview that recovery was going well, but that it was just a waiting game. He did want to be back in time for Mania , but it was really an issue of recovering.
Shoulder injuries are tough to recovery quickly from. Sami Zayn just got back from missing nearly 8 months of action and Hideo Itami left around the same time as Zayn and has yet to make his in-ring return. That is not even counting Randy Orton, who originally left with a shoulder issue which seems to have turned into something different. They are no joke, so it is not a surprise people are out for an extended period of time.
Luckily Cesaro’s specific issue was not as bad as it could have been. He was recently in Birmingham, Alabama, to see Dr. James Andrews’ staff regarding his recovery, which happened to be at the same time John Cena was going in for his own surgery. He had been doing most of his rehab at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. It is said that he was recovering very well, and it could be that he recovers in time for WrestleMania 32 .
According to Cageside Seats , it is as least possible for Cesaro to be back for WrestleMania 32 . However, if not he is set to return at some point in April at the latest anyway. WWE could very well keep him out until the WWE RAW after and have him return for the hot crowd that night. Some speculate that he could be a surprise entrant in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which he was the inaugural winner of. Last year’s winner, Big Show, will certainly be in it this year, but many assume that WWE would give Cesaro the win if he did return for it.
Of course, this is all speculating that WWE would want to have him work WrestleMania . Cesaro could very well have a singles program with someone at the event, but he could not wrestle until near Mania itself, unlike his opponent. While his recovery might be going well and his return could be ahead of schedule, he still has to get back into ring shape, which is not an easy thing to do. If rushed back, he could risk re-injuring himself and WWE cannot afford to lose another star right now.
John Cena and Seth Rollins are expected back by the beginning or end of summer, but Cesaro is an essential person for the in-between times. It has been rumored that Vince McMahon was highly impressed with Cesaro before he was injured. It is likely that McMahon tries to see what he has in Cesaro upon his return.
Many have wondered if Cesaro will make a surprise return at tonight’s Royal Rumble event. This is said to be highly unlikely, simply because he is still recovering. Could he be backstage? That is possible, since he is going a great deal of his rehab at the Performance Center in Orlando, which happens to be the same city the Rumble is in. A lot of people are likely to be backstage tonight, so it will be tough to know who WWE will end up using.
Usually reports of people being present backstage is a pretty big bit of information, but that is not the case due to the fact that many wrestlers live in the area. The entire WWE NXT roster is expected to be there for example. So it would not surprise anyone to see Cesaro, but do not expect him to make an appearance.
[Image via WWE]