Keith Lee: COVID-19 Diagnosis, Heart Inflammation Caused Absence from WWE Programming

WWE Superstar Keith Lee announced Thursday he contracted COVID-19 and was diagnosed with heart inflammation earlier this year. 

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Lee said he missed three weeks of WWE programming in January after testing positive for the virus. 

He also noted after he wrestled one match upon returning, he received a phone call "that there was something off" in his blood that showed inflammation in his heart that prevented him from "doing any activity outside of a light walk."

Lee defeated Sheamus in a one-on-one match on the Jan. 11 episode of Raw. He was off television for three weeks before defeating Riddle on Feb. 8. 

The former NXT heavyweight champion was scheduled to fight Riddle and Bobby Lashley for the United States title at Elimination Chamber on Feb. 21, but he was pulled from the card on the day of the show. 

WWE publicly announced Lee was recovering from injuries sustained from an attack by Lashley. John Morrison won a Fatal Four Way match on the preshow to replace Lee in the title bout on the main card. 

After a five-month absence, Lee returned to television July 19 when he answered Lashley's call for a championship contenders match. The Almighty pinned Lee after hitting him with a spear. 

Lee traded wins with current NXT champion Karrion Kross on the July 26 and Aug. 2 episodes of Raw. 

WWE signed Lee in 2018 and assigned him to NXT. The 36-year-old was a featured superstar in NXT for most of his time on the brand. He ended the 403-day title reign by Adam Cole at the Great American Bash in July 2020 to become the first double-champion in NXT history, as the heavyweight and North American champion.

Lee was called up to the main roster after last year's SummerSlam pay-per-view.