Former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens has provided an update on his serious neck injury. He confirmed he still has not undergone surgery and that his path to potential recovery is a “very slow process.”

Owens was forced to announce his in-ring hiatus just before WrestleMania 41 due to the severity of the issue. He shared these details during an interview with Bernard Colas for e10Sport.

Despite being off WWE television since before WrestleMania 41 in April 2025, Owens explained that his medical team is taking a cautious approach before proceeding with an operation. “I still haven’t had the operation.

There are a lot of things to consider before the surgery,” Owens stated. “We’re waiting a bit to see how things evolve naturally. There’s no doubt that I need surgery, but before going through with it, we just need to see how much it can… not recover, because it won’t recover, but improve slightly without surgery.”

He added, “After that, we’ll be able to make a plan and decide what’s the best thing to do for the surgery. But it’s a very slow process. You just have to be patient. I’m not someone who has a lot of patience usually, but in this case, I have no choice.”

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Owens also revealed how long he had been dealing with symptoms before the true nature of his injury was discovered. This is a diagnosis that came late.

“I had doubts for several months that there was something really abnormal. But it took several months before we diagnosed the actual injury,” he stated.

“We found out two days before I made the announcement on SmackDown that I wouldn’t be able to be at WrestleMania and that I had to stop wrestling immediately.” He admitted the initial symptoms were deceptive and led doctors to examine incorrect areas, which delayed an accurate diagnosis of the neck problem.

This detailed interview follows an earlier video Owens posted on X where he first addressed surgery rumors. In that message, he told WWE fans: “So, first, we don’t have a surgery date yet. I have not had surgery yet. Despite reports that are contrary.”

He continued, “We’re still gonna try and figure out what the best way to go about it all is, exactly what needs to be done. So we’re kind of figuring that out still… I don’t know what’s happening with my neck. So, we’ll figure it out.”

With no surgery date set and uncertainty about his condition’s progression, Owens remains on the sidelines indefinitely, and his WWE in-ring future is still very much in question.

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