Did Dakota Kai tear her ACL? Know everything about the injury keeping her out of action

Dakota Kai was unfortunately sidelined due to a knee injury a few months ago on SmackDown. Although she has returned to WWE at SummerSlam alongside Damage CTRL, she hasn't performed in the ring due to the type of injury she sustained.

Kai tore her ACL on the May 12, 2023, episode of WWE SmackDown, where she and Bayley were unsuccessful in defeating Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the Women's Tag Team Championship. Morgan also sustained a shoulder injury during the bout but returned to in-ring action the following month.

The 35-year-old's first appearance on the Stamford-based promotion since her injury happened at this year's SummerSlam. She celebrated with Bayley and IYO SKY after the latter cashed in her Money in the Bank contract and won the WWE Women's Championship.

Kai has since appeared on SmackDown again, but only to support her fellow Damage CTRL members at ringside.

Why did Dakota Kai decide to return to WWE SummerSlam despite her injury?

Damage CTRL was more than supportive of IYO's win

The Japanese star's WWE Women's Championship win was a major moment for her and the rest of her stablemates.

The trio appeared at the press conference of this year's Biggest Party of the Summer, and Dakota explained that she returned for SKY's special moment despite knowing she is still not cleared to wrestle. Kai also expressed her high hopes for Damage CTRL in the coming months.

"I came because this is such a great moment for her and us as a group. I'm still ways away from being in-ring cleared, but I had to be here for her tonight. This is a crazy accomplishment for her, representing us as Damage CTRL. But yeah, 2024 is about to be crazy. But we're getting there," said Kai.

When could Dakota Kai return to in-ring action?

As mentioned above, the former Women's Tag Team Champion has returned with The Role Model and the Japanese star. However, it might take longer for fans to see her return to action.

A note from PWInsider shared that WWE brought Dakota Kai back before she was medically cleared. The usual recovery takes six to nine months, and August marked the former champion's third month.

Unfortunately, a torn ACL has been suffered by multiple WWE Superstars. Aside from Kai, another woman who tore her ACL was Sonya Deville in July. Stars like The Miz, Seth Rollins, Logan Paul, and more have also experienced this before.