From The Rumor Mill: Update on Dean Ambrose's speculated return 

What's the story?

WWE has been advertising Dean Ambrose to be part of the South African tour which kicks off later this week, leading fans to believe that the former WWE Champion could be set to return prematurely, but it seems that the advertisements weren't changed following his injury four months ago.

In case you didn't know...

Ambrose has been out of action ever since December when he suffered a triceps injury that not only required surgery but was estimated to keep him out of action for up to nine months.

The former Champion was then replaced earlier this month at WrestleMania Axxess when he was scheduled to sign autographs, which was then rumored to be because he had suffered another injury setback.

The heart of the matter

It was recently revealed that Ambrose was advertised for this week's South African tour and was expected to be part of WWE Live Events which start in Cape Town on Wednesday, April 18th, but according to a report from WrestlingInc, that these advertisements were made ahead of Ambrose's injury back in 2017 and the company just forgot to change them.

Following his high-grade tendon tear back in December, WWE removed Ambrose from all future live events since his prognosis was around nine months out of action, but it seems that the South African listings were overlooked but have finally been changed now.

What's next?

Given the length of time, Ambrose is expected to be on the shelf, SummerSlam season would be the most obvious return time for him. WWE kicks off their South African tour tomorrow night without The Lunatic Fringe.

Author's take

Ambrose has only been recovering from injury now for four months and it seems his most recent setback could have only added more time to his expected recovery date.

Ambrose is one of the company's top stars and he will be thrown back in amongst it when he does return to the company will be sure to check that he is definitely in a condition to perform at the highest level before welcoming him back and sometimes it takes superstars a long time to reach that level.