Kevin Owens Expects To Miss 6-12 Months Due To Neck Injury (WWE News)

Emotional WWE star Kevin Owens has disclosed early estimates on his recovery time after suffering a serious neck injury. Owens still has to speak with doctors and get a proper rundown on how things are looking, but he reckons it'll be anywhere between 6-12 months on the shelf until he's able to wrestle again.

For the record, and to try allay some fears that KO's career is in real jeopardy, the man himself intends to make a full comeback to company action once he's physically able. Unfortunately, both he and his fanbase will have to wait a long while for that to happen.

Owens told the My Mom's Basement show that WWE could maybe pick back up on unresolved storyline issues with Randy Orton once he's back on the active roster. Kev announced that he likely needed surgery on the 4 April episode of SmackDown. There, he received a nod of respect from Randy (pretty much confirming on TV that their scheduled WrestleMania 41 match was toast), then Orton hit an RKO on brand GM Nick Aldis.

It remains unlikely that Randy will actually wrestle Aldis in Las Vegas, but things are still up in the air creatively. Triple H and his creative team will be frantically searching for a solution/an opponent for Orton so he doesn't miss out on the 'Mania excitement.

Sadly, Owens is definitely out of Vegas. He's still dealing with things mentally as well as physically, but seems hopeful that he'll get back to 100% then start doing what he loves again. Fingers crossed on that one, because he's one of WWE's best.

KO Believes He Suffered The Injury In January

During the same interview, Owens revealed that "two things happened that really jarred [his] neck" whilst wrestling a match this past January; KO only worked two bouts that month - one vs. Rey Mysterio on the 17 January SmackDown, and then another the following week vs. Jimmy Uso on the 24 January broadcast.

He didn't specify exactly which match was responsible for the injury.

Owens knows it was one of those bouts because he'd taken an MRI in December and no serious neck injuries were flagged up. Doctors found signs of stenosis in his spine, and his knees were shot to bits, but there were no major neck worries. Then, KO took another MRI in January and that's when the neck stuff flagged up.

Incredibly, Kevin has worked two bump-heavy grudge matches since. He faced Cody Rhodes in a particularly physical ladder match in early February at the 2025 Royal Rumble PLE, then brawled with old pal/enemy Sami Zayn in a memorable 'Unsanctioned Match' at Elimination Chamber: Toronto in early March.

Taking some of the lumps Kev did there certainly can't have helped his condition.