WWE News: Latest on Alberto Del Rio, His Injury and Status for the Royal Rumble

Alberto Del Rio has been out of action since last month after suffering a torn groin, and many fans have speculated about his potential return date.

According to WWE.com, the former two-time WWE Champion underwent surgery to repair the injury, and his estimated recovery time was four to six weeks.

That means that ADR could be in line for a surprise return at this year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, but judging by the looks of things, I wouldn’t bank on that happening.

From the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via SEScoops.com):

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With the Royal Rumble less than two weeks away, we’ve gotten a number of emails from readers asking about the status of last year’s Rumble winner, Alberto Del Rio. The most recent reports we’ve heard are that Del Rio will not be back in time to win back-to-back Rumbles. 

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I’ll be 100 percent honest—I haven’t noticed that Del Rio’s been gone at all.

Though I don’t hate or love the guy, I simply haven’t really missed him over the last few weeks and am certainly not pining for him to return. That being said, I don’t see any point in rushing him back to the ring no matter what creative has planned for him in the coming months.

Del Rio is not going to win his second-straight Royal Rumble match and go on to main event WrestleMania, so having him return during the Rumble when he might not be 100 percent doesn’t make a ton of sense to me.

Let ADR get healthy rather than risk having him return before he's ready to get back in the ring.

Although I may not like Del Rio or see a World title match in his immediate future, he certainly is in the upper echelon of the WWE’s heels and should play a pretty big role on the road to WrestleMania. 

Chances are that he’ll be involved in Raw’s Elimination Chamber match at next month’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. So, I’d either have him return after the Royal Rumble and get a nice build on TV, or I’d wait until Elimination Chamber to have him come back and then book him strongly there, too.

I don’t want to see Del Rio in a huge match at WrestleMania, but whether I like it or not, he’ll play a big role at the pay-per-view and should have some solid momentum built up going into it.

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