Kevin Owens Reportedly Not Returning to WWE Television Until After WrestleMania

Kevin Owens hasn't been seen on WWE television since October due to needing knee surgery, and based on the latest reports he won't be back for at least another few months.

Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week that Owens is expected to be medically cleared to return to action in the near future, but is not expected to be used on television until after WrestleMania 35.

This comes as a surprise given both Owens and his tag partner/best friend Sami Zayn had promo packages air on WWE television in December hinting that both would be back soon. Zayn, who had to undergo surgery to repair both of his rotator cuffs over the summer, said in a recent interview with Chris Jericho that he wasn't even close to returning despite WWE's promos.

"I'm not even close [to being cleared]," Zayn said. "I need a few more months."

Zayn went into detail about his mindset being away from wrestling while recovering, saying he didn't miss the grind of being constantly on the road.

"I told myself early on. I said, 'I'm not even gonna think about this stuff 'til November.' Well it's November. It's also out of my hands. If I'm still a few months away from coming back and I go, 'I've got this idea. I want to come back this way.' Then when it's actually time for you to comeback, it's math," Zayn said. "Where does he factor in? OK, plug him in here and all these things you've been thinking about for three months, getting married to these ideas are gonna end in toil anyway.

"This time off made me really OK with when I don't do this anymore....if I never do this again ever, I'm totally OK with it. I'm OK with who I am with wrestling and without wrestling. That's how I feel today...I don't know how I'll feel in three years. As it stands at this moment, if I never wrestle again, I'm OK with that as a person, but all the more reason that I'm grateful that I can come back and I can still do this for however long I can still do this for. I'm really grateful for it. I've been overwhelmed with gratitude in this time off because the more I looked into myself, the more I realized how lucky I am and it really really made me grateful."