Conflicting Reports Emerge On Surgery Timeline For Sidelined WWE Star Kevin Owens

Conflicting reports regarding Kevin Owens' surgery for a neck injury emerged on Friday, and the latest report indicates "The Prize Fighter" has yet to undergo the procedure. Earlier on Friday, Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Owens successfully underwent surgery earlier this week. Fightful Select has reported, however, that Owens has yet to have surgery.

According to Fightful, Owens' surgery hasn't taken place yet and those they spoke to in WWE don't expect him back this year. It's also possible, according to Fightful's sources, he could miss WrestleMania 42 in addition to this year's event. Owens revealed that he hurt his neck during a match in January, but didn't realize how bad it was for a few months, until an MRI made it clear he would have to miss action. Owens was initially set to face Randy Orton on "The Grandest Stage of Them All," but told fans on last week's episode of "WWE SmackDown" that he had to step away due to the injury.

Owens said he believed the timeframe for his injury recovery could be as short as six months, but could also range from eight months to a year, and said he's "pretty likely" to return. Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer on Friday that a majority of wrestlers who have the surgery return to the ring eventually. 

His last match was against real-life best friend and often on-screen nemesis Sami Zayn in an unsanctioned match at Elimination Chamber in March. Zayn has not been seen on WWE programming since, and Orton's WrestleMania opponent remains unknown as of this writing.