WWE Rumors: Cody Rhodes Surgery Date Set to Repair Pectoral Injury

Cody Rhodes is reportedly set to undergo surgery Thursday to repair his torn right pectoral muscle.

Fightful Select reported Rhodes is expected to appear on Monday's Raw to address the crowd before undergoing the procedure. The American Nightmare battled through the gruesome injury to defeat Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell on Sunday, but he's expected to miss several months of action.

WWE will likely give a more concrete timetable once Rhodes undergoes the procedure. Recent wrestling history would give a rough timeline of 4-6 months, though the front end of that has typically been seen as a medical marvel (ala John Cena).

Rhodes' injury could arguably not have come at a worse possible time for himself or WWE. The first major defection from AEW to WWE, Rhodes has been positioned as the top babyface on the Raw brand and has gotten overwhelmingly positive reception for his promos, matches and interaction with fans since his return.

His arrival also came as a much-needed boost to the WWE roster, which has struggled in finding babyface talent that stays over with the crowd for an extended period. Rhodes seemed primed to perhaps win the Money in the Bank briefcase next month and perhaps unseat Roman Reigns for the WWE championship.

The injury will put an extended pause on those potential plans and leave WWE without an obvious in-house challenger to Reigns' throne.

Rhodes' presence has also helped somewhat obscure the fact that Reigns has scaled back his on-screen appearances since WrestleMania, which has kept the WWE and Universal championships off TV. The impact has been significant on SmackDown, but the Rhodes-Rollins feud was able to carry Raw for much of the buildup for Hell in a Cell.

It's hard to tell what direction WWE goes from here. Just don't be surprised if the Tribal Chief starts pulling more double duty with Rhodes on the mend.

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