AEW's Will Ospreay Has Surgery for Neck Injury, Says He Faces 'Long' Recovery

AEW star Will Ospreay announced Thursday that he underwent successful surgery amid his absence from the company.

As part of his post on X, the two-time AEW international champion added, "The road will be long, but it'll be worth it to see you all again."

Last month, Ospreay told SI.com's Zack Heydorn that he was dealing with herniated discs pushing against his spinal cord, and he was informed that the condition would require surgery.

After Ospreay's team won a Lights Out Steel Cage match in the main event of Forbidden Door on Aug. 24, he was viciously attacked by the Death Riders stable, which was AEW's way of writing him off television in advance of the surgery.

The 32-year-old Ospreay signed with AEW in 2023 after a successful run in Japan, and he has been among the promotion's top stars ever since.

Although he has yet to win the AEW World Championship, it can be argued that Ospreay is AEW's most popular wrestler thanks to his penchant for putting on memorable and highly rated matches.

Since joining AEW, numerous Ospreay matches have been celebrated as being among the best in recent memory, including clashes with Swerve Strickland, MJF, Kyle Fletcher, Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita and "Hangman" Adam Page.

Forbidden Door may have been a pivotal event for AEW, as it not only marked the start of Ospreay's hiatus, but an injury angle involving Strickland was executed as well.

Following Strickland's loss to Okada, he was attacked by Wardlow, and BodySlam.net later reported that Swerve was set to take time off in order to undergo knee surgery.

With the two of its top stars in Ospreay and Strickland on the shelf, AEW will have to lean more heavily on some of its other performers such as Page, Fletcher, Okada, Jon Moxley and Darby Allin.

There may also be an even bigger emphasis on the women's division, led by AEW women's world champion Toni Storm and TBS champion Mercedes Moné.

Life without Ospreay and Strickland for an extended period of time will truly start Saturday when the AEW All Out pay-per-view takes place at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.