Xavier Woods suffered a torn Achilles on Oct. 21 at a WWE live event in Australia. Woods, teaming with Big E, was in the ring against The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) when the injury occurred. A torn Achilles can sideline an athlete for up to a year depending on how the rehab process goes.
Speaking on New Day: Feel The Power podcast, Xavier detailed what exactly happened in the ring and the aftermath.
"I ended up doing a backflip at the beginning of the match and as soon as I landed, I felt like somebody had kicked me in the back of the foot. I went to take another step and I realized I couldn't push off of that foot. Immediately, the thought shot across my mind that it was my Achilles because that's where I felt it. Got to the back, the doctor said it's most likely a torn Achilles, and when I heard that, there were a lot of different emotions. A torn Achilles is an injury that takes a very long time to come back from. Knowing I could be out for up to a year -- this was before I got an MRI. I have to fly from Sydney to Atlanta the next day. Then go to Atlanta to Birmingham to get surgery."
He continued, "The doctor tells me, 'here's the breakdown; you tore it in an instant. It will take me 14 minutes to fix it. It could possibly take up to a year to feel good on it again,' which is terrifying to me. At this point in time, I feel like [New Day] is running in our prime, especially on TV. We're having a great run. To get an injury that will take me out for an extended period of time is something that has shaken me to my core."
Kofi Kingston, who wrestled Randy Orton later in the night, wasn't ringside for the match, but did greet his New Day partner when he arrived backstage.
"I wasn't at the monitor, so I didn't see the injury go down. I just heard, 'Woods is hurt, it's an Achilles.' I'm just like, 'what the...' [Woods] comes back through and was surprisingly in really good spirits. I don't know what's going on in the inside, but on the exterior...."
Woods interrupted to say, "On the inside, I was dying. I was screaming, crying, ripping my hair out, throwing up."
It remains unknown when Xavier will return to the ring. During his time away from the ring, Woods has continued to grow his UpUpDownDown gaming channel, preparing for life after WWE. You can read about how Woods is spending his time on the sideline by clicking here.
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