Clarity Provided On AEW’s Will Ospreay Recovery Following Surgery
There is more information about Will Ospreay’s potential return to the ring after neck surgery.
Will Ospreay has been out of action since late August. Ospreay’s last match was at the AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door PPV in his home country of England. Ospreay was on the winning team in a Lights Out tag team match. After the match, Ospreay was attacked by Jon Moxley and the Death Riders to explain his extended absence.
Following the Forbidden Door PPV, Will Ospreay underwent neck surgery in mid-September, and it’s an injury that is expected to sideline him for a long time.
On November 1st, the Body Alignment Clinic in the UK posted photos on Instagram of Ospreay, including the scar on his neck from surgery, and photos of him rehabbing the injury. Their post also included this message.
@aew Allstar @willospreay 6 weeks post op and doing great!
Still some way to go with but we’re on the right road.
Jan 2026 🚀
🚨Don’t Try This At Home!
#aew #willospreay #bodyalignmentclinic #teamstraightspine
As you might expect, the post got a lot of attention, and the “Jan 2026” part made people think that perhaps Ospreay could return to the ring at that point.
Will Ospreay “Is A Long Way Away From Returning”
The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, who is plugged into AEW news so much that video exists of him receiving a call from Tony Khan during a show, posted in his Daily Update that Ospreay is not close to a return.
Regarding Will Ospreay, some people brought up to me from a social media post thinking he would be back in January. That is not the case. He is hopeful of being able to start light weight workouts in January. He is a long way away from returning.
While no timeline has been given, many wrestlers in the past have missed up to a year of action after neck surgery, but there are different kinds of surgeries. There’s no specific timeline on when Ospreay will return, but Meltzer writing that Will is a long way away from returning suggests it may be a longer rehab process for the popular AEW wrestler.
If Will Ospreay can compete at AEW All In 2026 next summer, he wants to face Kenny Omega one more time, but Ospreay also admits he doesn’t know if he’ll be in the ring at that point.
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