Major Update On The Return Of Injured WWE Raw Superstar

The Mad Dragon appears to be on his way back to the ring.

Ilja Dragunov has been out of action for nearly a year after he suffered a torn ACL during a match with Gunther at a WWE live event last September.

At last word the former NXT Champion was on track for a return this fall, and Dave Scherer of PWInsider is now reporting that Dragunov is either close to 100 percent or he has already been medically cleared for competition.

This latest update could be an indication that the company is currently working on the creative direction for his return to television.

Dragunov was last seen on Monday Night Raw competing amongst a crowded field to become the Intercontinental Champion, which led to a series of highly praised match-ups against Bron Breakker, Sami Zayn and Ricochet.

The folks over at Bodyslam have corroborated the report from PWInsider, saying that Dragunov is in fact on the verge of getting back to in-ring action. Furthermore, they say he will be returning to the RAW roster.

How long before Dragunov squares off against Gunther on television?

If the Mad Dragon is on his way back to Monday Night Raw, that opens the door for two of the greatest rivals in professional wrestling to finally lock horns on WWE main roster television.

Ilja Dragunov and former World Heavyweight Champion Gunther are what you would consider to be wrestling soulmates. Their history with one another dates back over a decade and their clashes for the NXT UK Championship are two of the highest rated matches in WWE history.

Dragunov's victory over the Ring General at NXT TakeOver 36 ended his record-breaking 870 day reign as the NXT UK Champion. They've only met a handful of times since then, all of which have been at live house shows.

Gunther is currently out of action himself. He was reportedly dealing with a nose injury prior to his match with CM Punk at SummerSlam and was set to undergo surgery to correct the issue following his defeat. There is currently no timeline for his return to action.

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