Bianca Belair Provides New Injury Update Amid WWE Absence

The wait continues for Bianca Belair.

The multi-time WWE Women's Champion has been out of action since WrestleMania 41, where she suffered a pretty bad hand injury during her triple threat match against Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY.

Belair initially believed that she'd only be gone for a few months, but she recently told BET’s 106 & Sports that the recovery process has not gone according to plan.

"So I broke my knuckle, not my finger, I broke my knuckle. I broke the joint. It’s something that I thought was gonna be a very straightforward, you know, eight to 12 weeks. It’s been almost six months at this point," Belair said.

The E-S-T suffered the injury during a unique triple German suplex spot off the top turnbuckle. Belair found herself underneath Rhea Ripley as all three women came crashing down to the mat.

"We came off the top rope and Rhea landed straight on my hand and it just crushed everything in my finger. So, it’s been a crazy journey, and being an athlete and having an injury, you rely on your body and now my body’s not doing what it is supposed to do. But I’m hoping I can be back in the ring soon.” h/t Fightful

Recent reports have Bianca Belair out of action until 2026

Belair has only made a handful of appearances on WWE programming since WrestleMania 41, most notably at Evolution back in July. The E-S-T served as the special guest referee for the No Holds Barred Match between her former 'Big Three' compatriots, Jade Cargill and Naomi.

With Cargill now holding the WWE Women's Champion on SmackDown, some fans may be hoping that Bianca will return in the near future to challenge her former friend and tag team partner. Recent reports, however, have thrown cold water on that thought.

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The folks over at BodySlam reported just last week that WWE is expecting Belair to be out until early next year, while still holding out some hope that she may be able to come back a bit sooner.

The SmackDown Women's Division could certainly use a breathe of fresh air at the top of the card, after Cargill, Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax dominated the main event scene in the months following WrestleMania.

With Belair still on the sidelines, there's been some speculation that WWE had Giulia suddenly drop the Women's United States Title last Friday to Chelsea Green, so they could move the Beautiful Madness out of the mid-card.

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