Bayley injury: Everything you want to know about the former Women's Champion's latest setback
Bayley will not challenge Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WWE Money In The Bank as she injured herself in a "freak accident" while training.
She has since addressed the injury in a video promo on SmackDown.
Bayley blamed fans while staying in character as a heel even while injured.
"You don't care at all! You don't care that I'm hurt, I did this to get better for Money in the Bank, I did this to be the best, I did this for you!" Bayley said. "So this? Yeah, this is all your fault! And I don't give a damn who they put in my place because they are not as good as me."
Details on Bayley's injury
In a report, Fightful Select stated the former SmackDown Women's Champion was training with another WWE star during which her knee popped. We don't have confirmation but preliminary backstage reports suggest it could be a torn ACL. According to the WWE report, Bayley could be out for nine months.
Carmella will challenge Belair for the title on next week's SmackDown episode in the wake of Bayley's injury. Meanwhile, Liv Morgan has been added to the Money in the Bank Women's Ladder Match to replace Carmella.
The duration of time Bayley will spend outside the ring fits with that caused by an ACL injury. It's common among athletes as it usually occurs due to sudden stops or changes in direction. The anterior cruciate ligament that holds the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone) gets torn, and such an injury takes a long time to heal.
Tegan Nox, who was just called up to the main roster, has gone through three ACL injuries in her WWE career, each of which took at least nine months to a year to recover.
History of Bayley's injuries
This is Bayley's third serious injury that has required her to take time away from the ring in her WWE career.
In June 2015, she suffered a broken hand and took a short time away from the ring to recover.
In July 2017, while feuding with Alexa Bliss, Bayley suffered from a separated shoulder as a result of which she could not perform. The injury came during her match with Nia Jax on RAW. She was pulled from her match at SummerSlam and took two months to recover before returning to in-ring action.
Unfortunately, her knee injury might take longer to recover than any of her previous ones in WWE.
Bayley has been one of the brightest superstars for WWE during the pandemic era. Sportskeeda wishes her the best and hopes that she emerges fitter and stronger from this setback.