Samoa Joe's foot injury could keep him out much longer than expected.
After being voted in as Bayley's tag team partner for the upcoming Mixed Match Challenge, WWE revealed that the former NXT Champion in Joe wouldn't be able to participate due to an injury. As it turns out, it's a little worse than WWE expected, and The Miz has replaced him on live events through March.
Initially WWE were optimistic that the injury was something that wouldn't shelve the Superstar. WWE released the following update Tuesday morning:
“During his match, [Samoa Joe] felt a pop at the bottom of his [right] foot,” explained WWE Senior Ringside Physician Dr. Chris Amann. “We took a look and believe he has a plantar fascia rupture, which is a thick tissue rupture under the foot. We will get an MRI to confirm. Treatment includes a period of immobilization in a boot with crutches and platelet rich plasma injections.”
Joe has had a rough go of it with injuries and incidents during his WWE main roster run -- and even his NXT run. During a 2017 interview, Joe admitted that he's only been able to perform since joining NXT due to a variety of injuries. He would miss a couple of months last year after getting two surgeries, and in December had a match stopped abruptly in Toronto when he sustained a laceration to his face.
Joe last appeared on WWE Raw on January 8, defeating Rhyno and targeting John Cena in a promo.
