WWE Star Faces Long Absence With Serious Knee Injury
One WWE star is set to be out of action until well into 2025 after suffering a serious knee injury during a live event match.
Former NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov has made a name for himself in WWE since joining the main roster in the spring of 2024. Dragunov has shared the ring with the likes of Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, and Shinsuke Nakamura on Raw but it’s his matches with Gunther from NXT that still stand out from his WWE career.
Dragunov has faced World Heavyweight Champion Gunther in several live event and dark matches in recent months and it was no different when an increasingly rare WWE house show took place on the 28th of September in Columbus, Georgia.
Ilja Dragunov To Miss Significant Time From WWE
Gunther won but that was the least of Dragunov’s problems by the time the match was over. On Raw in Evansville, Indiana, Joe Tessitore revealed that Ilja Dragunov suffered a torn ACL during that match and he is now expected to be out of action for 6-9 months.
WWE announces that Ilja Dragunov will be out for 6-9 months with a torn ACL.
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pic.twitter.com/XMJvuf8Xu6— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) October 1, 2024
This is not the first time Ilja Dragunov has suffered a bad injury during his WWE career. Back in 2022, Dragunov was forced to vacate the NXT UK Championship after suffering a leg injury.
While Dragunov is set for a spell on the sidelines, one major WWE star made their shock return on Raw weeks after being taken out in vicious fashion.