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WWE: Seth Rollins’ Knee Injury To ACL, MCL Takes His Belt — Daniel Bryan To Return For 2015 Survivor Series?

By Patrick Frye
Published on: 15:32 PST, Nov 5, 2015

Seth Rollins’ knee injury puts the WWE in a tough position in 2015. Last year, ex-WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan was forced to give up the belt, and now that Rollins has torn his ACL and MCL, he is out for at least six to nine months, which means he could even miss WrestleMania 32. Presumably, Roman Reigns is heir apparent to the title, but already some are saying this obvious move would only anger the wrestling fans. But what if the WWE gives Daniel Bryan a chance to take his belt back?

In a related report by the Inquisitr, a match with Kane in Dublin is when the accident occurred. Seth Rollins attempted to powerbomb Kane through a table, but his right knee buckled to the side. Rollins was able to fight through the pain and pin Kane, but it was obvious he was really injured since he required help to reach the backstage.

The full extent of Seth Rollins’ injury has not been described, but surgeons have a pretty good idea for how long such injuries take to heal. The recovery time for an ACL/MCL injury really depends on the severity of the injury.

According to Dr. Michael Gleiber, the medial meniscus tear is apparently the easiest to fix, with patients returning to normal activities within six weeks. The medial collaterial ligament (MCL) is the ligament attaching the thigh bone to the shin bone. A grade 3 tear usually only takes four to eight weeks to heal, but Rollins also injured the ACL, which means his recovery time will be much longer. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four ligaments connecting the bones of the upper and lower knee. Presumably, Rollins must have suffered a grade 3 tear, since physical rehab for this type of injury can take several months to a whole year to recover.

The doctor says people often have unrealistic expectations when it comes to such injuries, but for the professional sportsmen, the recovery time is often dependent on the individual.

“Whether you’re an Olympic skiing champion like Lindsey Vonn – who also underwent knee surgery – or a point guard for your high school basketball team, when it comes to recovery from an injury, everyone is an individual,” he explains.

The doctor says a person suffering from an ACL injury could potentially return to being physically active within four to six months, depending on the person. Of course, this is wrestling we are talking about, so it’s probably safer to assume the higher estimates for Seth Rollins’ return to the WWE ring.

WWE Survivor Series Needs A Champion

Vince McMahon and Triple H are probably wondering what to do even as we write this article. The WWE has already announced that a new champion will be crowned at Survivor Series, but the real question is who will be in the match.

“WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins has torn his right ACL, MCL and medial meniscus, and will not be able to defend the title against Roman Reigns at Survivor Series. A tournament to determine a new champion will instead take place at the event.”

Handing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt over to Roman Reigns would almost seem like a perfunctory gesture at this point. McMahon probably still hears the echoes of the boos from fans at the 2015 Royal Rumble. At the same time, the WWE management is fairly stuck since Sting and Randy Orton are injured, John Cena isn’t supposed to return until December, and many other big names were slotted for other matches at the WWE Survivor Series.

The Big Lead has suggested that Dean Ambrose, Big E Langston, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, and Bray Wyatt may be the best candidates for taking the belt. The only issue is that most of those names may already have matches, so tossing them into an extra championship match may come off as forced. But The Big Lead also believes it’s possible that “Daniel Bryan could be a surprise comeback champion.”

This idea does have some merit. Daniel Bryan’s injury has been cleared by his own personal doctor, but the wrestler claims that WWE doctors will not allow him to climb back into the ring since they fear the possibility of re-injuring his neck. Regardless, the WWE does plan on scheduling Bryan for WrestleMania 32, although we don’t know if they had planned for Bryan to wrestle.

If Daniel Bryan does take the championship belt due to Seth Rollins’ knee injury it would almost come off as poetic justice considering how he was forced to relinquish his own WWE title over an injury. Of course, Brock Lesnar could show up and take everyone on a road trip to Suplex City. Whatever the case, let’s just hope the WWE makes their decision interesting rather than predictable.

[Image via WWE]

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