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Jinder Mahal explains his lengthy WWE absence

By Danny Hart
Modified Jun 01, 2021 18:34 IST
Jinder Mahal has only competed in six matches since June 2019
Jinder Mahal has only competed in six matches since June 2019

Jinder Mahal has opened up about the injury setback he suffered after making his return to WWE in-ring action in 2020.

In July 2019, Mahal underwent surgery to repair a ruptured patella tendon. It looked as though he was on course to challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship after returning to the ring in April 2020. However, another knee injury ruled the former WWE Champion out until January 2021.

Mahal recently appeared in a YouTube video with chiropractic physician Dr. Beau Hightower. He said a WWE doctor discovered the second injury after his knee began to swell up.

“So I showed the WWE doctor it’s swollen,” Mahal said. “He’s like, ‘Oh, we’ll drain it.’ I’ve got my knees drained before, so he drains it. He’s like, ‘Alright, stand up, should be good.’ I went to stand up and my knee locked. I was like, ‘Oh no.’ When all the swelling was there, I didn’t notice it but I had a torn piece of articular cartilage, so then I had to have surgery again. For that surgery, a microfracture of the femur, so then that was a really long recovery again. And here we are. So that was another nine, 10 months.”

Jinder Mahal made his long-awaited return in a six-man tag team match at WWE Superstar Spectacle in January 2021. He joined forces with The Singh Brothers in a losing effort against Drew McIntyre, Rinku, and Saurav.

Jinder Mahal’s recent return to WWE television

Jeff Hardy lost a three-minute match against Jinder Mahal on RAW
Jeff Hardy lost a three-minute match against Jinder Mahal on RAW

After two long-term injuries, Jinder Mahal returned to RAW on the May 10 episode of WWE’s flagship show. He now has two new allies, Veer (f.k.a. Rinku) and Shanky, by his side.

The 34-year-old defeated Jeff Hardy in singles matches on Main Event and RAW in May. Despite those victories, he has not appeared on any of the last three episodes of RAW.

Please credit Dr. Beau Hightower and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

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