Kevin Owens' WWE Return Reportedly Delayed Amid Knee Injury Recovery

Kevin Owens' return to WWE programming reportedly may not occur as soon as originally expected.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Marc Middleton of WrestlingInc.com), KO may not return for a "few more months," and the current plan is for him to come back after WrestleMania 35 in April.

Owens underwent double knee surgery in October, and he is reportedly expected to be cleared for in-ring action soon.

In December, WWE aired a vignette promoting Owens' eventual return:

During his recovery from knee surgery, multiple reports have surfaced regarding KO's status and his return timetable.

In October, Meltzer (h/t Raj Giri of WrestlingInc.com) reported that Owens was expected back in late February or early March.

Then, in December, Meltzer (h/t Andrew Ravens of SEScoops) reported that WWE might wait until after WrestleMania to bring Owens back.

Depending on his health, WWE has no shortage of options in terms of when and how to bring Owens back to television.

If he is good to go now, KO would be a perfect surprise entry in the Royal Rumble match on Jan. 27.

Provided Owens needs more time, however, waiting until after WrestleMania could be a logical move since coming back on Raw or SmackDown after the biggest show of the year tends to generate a ton of buzz.

WWE played a hype video in anticipation of Sami Zayn's return in December, which suggests that he and Owens could come back at the same time since they were working together prior to landing on the shelf.

Regardless of how WWE opts to bring Owens back into the fold, it will be a massive boost for the company when he does return since the former Universal champion is among the top all-around performers the business has to offer.

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