"He was supposed to be back by now" - Tony Khan reveals extent of AEW star's injury

AEW president Tony Khan has revealed that despite appearing on TV in recent weeks, Anthony Bowens of The Acclaimed has been sidelined with an injury and that he has had to take a little longer than expected to get back in the ring.

Bowens has accompanied his tag team partner Max Caster to the ring for his recent matches with Keith Lee, Sonny Kiss and CM Punk on All Elite Wrestling programs Dynamite, Rampage and Dark.

However, he hasn't wrestled since The Acclaimed challenged for the AEW Tag Team Championships on March 9th.

Anthony Bowens' in-ring absence has now been explained by Tony Khan on Busted Open Radio, who has confirmed that Bowens is rehabbing a knee injury, which Khan initially thought would have healed by now:

“I really like Anthony a great deal. He’s been injured. We don’t think it’s anything too long-term, but the truth is, he was supposed to be back by now and that’s jammed me up the last couple weeks in planning. He’s been out almost a month and they originally thought it was going to be two weeks. It’s been a few weeks I’ve been looking forward to bringing him back. He’s recovering from what is hopefully a short-term knee injury,” said Tony Khan. (H/T: Inside the Ropes).

I love Anthony Bowens and Max Caster. That's the tweet. #AEWDynamite https://t.co/Gpsn6S1N1L

Due to the injury, The Acclaimed have slipped down the rankings from first to fourth, meaning that when Anthony Bowens is ready to return, Caster and Bowens will have a bit of a climb to reach the top once again.

Anthony Bowens isn't the only AEW star who has been on the shelf for longer than expected

Elsewhere in the AEW Tag Team Division, former champion Rey Fenix has not been seen on All Elite Wrestling TV since January 5th, when he and brother Penta El Zero Miedo were defeated by Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus, also known as Jurassic Express.

During the match, Fenix took a nasty-looking bump off the apron and through a table on the outside. In the landing, the luchador's arm bent at an extremely unnatural angle, taking him out of the match completely.

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. 🫀

#Animo https://t.co/9Gk0sfgIjV

Fenix later revealed that he had suffered a dislocated elbow and would be out for around eight weeks. However, it is now 12 weeks since the injury and the former Tag Team Champion has yet to appear on AEW TV.

The length of his absence would explain Erick Redbeard's presence on the Revolution pay-per-view as back-up. Fortunately, Fenix is scheduled back at some point this month.

Are you looking forward to seeing these stars return from injury? Let us know in the comments section down below!