Big Update on Bianca Belair's Injury and Potential Return

We have a new update on Bianca Belair's WWE status after being out of action for almost a year.

Bianca Belair hasn't competed inside a WWE ring since last year at WrestleMania 41, when she competed in a triple threat match against Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY for the Women's World Championship.

During the match, Belair suffered a hand injury that turned out to be much more serious than anyone could have predicted.

Despite appearing on WWE programming over the summer to be the special guest referee for the match between Jade Cargill and Naomi and Evolution, The EST hasn't been seen on WWE programming since. Her finger injury, which also involved her knuckle, didn't end up healing in the manner they had hoped, which resulted in Belair undergoing surgery to repair the issue earlier this year.

But when will she be able to return to WWE?

Bianca Belair is now doing light training for her WWE return

Belair underwent surgery to repair the injury in February and immediately began physical therapy to prepare for her eventual WWE return. According to the team at BodySlam+, the EST has begun light training as she is looking to make her in-ring return soon.

Based on the report, it appears we could be seeing Bianca Belair back in a WWE ring sooner rather than later, but there's no indication yet when exactly that might be.

What were WWE's original plans for Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 42?

In a recent issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was reported that WWE originally planned to have Jade Cargill defend her Women's Championship against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania next month.

This would likely mean people within WWE hoped Belair would be back in the fold on the road to WrestleMania in time to win either the Royal Rumble or the Elimination Chamber match. It's worth noting that early betting odds for the Women's Rumble this year heavily favored a returning Belair to win the match.

With Belair unable to return within that time frame, the company pivoted to a match between Jade Cargill and Rhea Ripley instead. Thus far, the booking for the match has been pretty up and down, so it will be interesting to see how that match turns out next month in Las Vegas.

We'll continue to provide updates as more information about Belair's injury and potential return becomes available.