Kevin Owens surprised many fans when he announced on last week's "WWE SmackDown" that he would have to take some time off due to needing neck surgery, with some suggesting the injury could even force him to retire
Owens, though, is optimistic about returning to the ring once again, despite the serious nature of his injury. "The Prizefighter" spoke about it during his appearance on "My Mom's Basement" podcast, and stated that he is determined to come back and face off against Randy Orton at WrestleMania.
"I know I'll come back or at the very least, I really hope I come back. You know, I guess there's ... I never take anything for granted in what we do, so who knows?" said Owens. "But it's pretty likely I'll come back. And then, maybe we could do it [match with Orton at WrestleMania] eventually."
The WWE star is pleased that he got to share the ring with Orton at last year's WrestleMania, where he was in a triple threat match with Orton and Logan Paul, but wants a singles match with "The Viper." He also said that he doesn't yet know how long he will be out for, but he predicts it could be between six and twelve months. He added that he would have more details after speaking with the surgeon, which he will do this week.
"No, I don't know. I haven't talked to the surgeon or anything like that yet. I'm going to do all that on Monday.I mean, I know that most of the people who have gone through similar things have probably, you know, six months to eight months to a year. So I would assume within that range, but I don't really know. Like I said, it's all really new right now."
Owens' last match was against his longtime friend and occasional foe SamiZayn, whom he faced and defeated at last month's Elimination Chamber show.
