Important update on Ivar's neck surgery following a major injury on RAW

Ivar of The Viking Raiders is out of action and will be so for a long time. There were rumors about the backstage concern that Ivar's return might take up to a year, which would likely spell the end of The Viking Raiders for now.

While WWE normally never gives too much emphasis on the tag team division, The Viking Raiders were still an important part of it for the past year - where they came up from NXT undefeated and remained so for a while.

The injury to Ivar was unfortunate as it happened via a Viking Dive - a move that he's done on multiple occasions through the years, even before his run in WWE. However, this time, he fell short and while it appeared that he may have twisted his ankle at first, the injury turned out to be far worse and more dangerous - it was to the neck.

As a result, he had to get surgery and PWInsider.com confirmed that Ivar has successfully undergone neck surgery and while there's no timetable for his return, he is expected to be out for a long time:

"Ivar of the Viking Raiders underwent neck surgery earlier this week in Birmingham, Alabama. We are told there is currently no timetable for his return but it is not expected to be a short recovery."

How will Ivar's absence impact WWE programming?

For one, WWE will have to start finding ways to utilize Erik as a singles star. Erik hasn't been a singles star in a long time and hasn't been so once during his WWE run. While it may turn out to be a golden opportunity for him, it could work the other way, where WWE simply decides not to utilize him because they only see him as a tag team player.

Perhaps that approach wouldn't have been bad if Ivar was only out for 2-3 months, but that isn't the case. Ivar could be out for a year and by the time he's back, the landscape of WWE and the tag team division may change entirely.