While WWE has a fairly healthy roster at this point in time, some stars have remained on the shelf with no clear timetable on a return to the ring. That has been especially true for Bobby Roode, as the 47-year-old wrestler has not competed inside a squared circle since June 2022. Roode took time off to recover from an ongoing neck injury that would ultimately require spinal fusion surgery. The injury required two separate procedures that he underwent at the tail end of 2022. With spinal fusion recovery timetables usually being in the 1-3 month range, there was some optimism that Roode could be back in the first half of 2023. As of this past April, the latest update on Roode was that he was “still expected to be out quite some time.”
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That update is exemplified by the latest from Roode himself. Roode shared on social media that he underwent a C4-C5 cervical fusion surgery on his birthday, May 11th.
“Another trip around the sun and another trip to Birmingham Alabama. Quite a way to celebrate my birthday lol. Had a C4/5 cervical fusion to go along with the C5/6 fusion back in November,” Roode wrote. “Most importantly it was a success thanks to the man himself Dr Andy Cordover and the first class staff here at @andrews_sports_medicine Big thank you @deneane__17 for being my rock throughout this entire process. It’s been a challenging year to say the least. Road to recovery part 2!”
Roode shared a series of images of himself at the hospital as well as x-rays of his neck.
Roode has been a member of the WWE roster since 2016. He found his biggest success in NXT, where he became that brand’s champion just months after making his debut. After losing the NXT Championship to Drew McIntyre in August 2017, Roode made his way to the main roster, operating as a babyface for the first time in his WWE tenure. He rode a wave of momentum to a WWE United States Title victory but would lose it to Randy Orton not long after. That short run essentially wrapped up Roode’s singles tenure in WWE, as he shifted to the tag division and won gold with the likes of Chad Gable and Dolph Ziggler.
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on Bobby Roode’s WWE status.
