Taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, January 31, the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble premium live event is only one month away.
This means it’s the season of speculation. Comebacks, returns, new faces, old faces. Anything can happen at the Royal Rumble, including the return of some injured stars who were forced onto the sidelines in 2025.
Here are six injured WWE stars who could potentially return at the 2026 Royal Rumble.
6. Sheamus
Last month, Sheamus suffered a shoulder injury, which saw him ruled out of his Last Time Is Now Tournament quarterfinal against LA Knight.
With no new updates since WWE’s initial announcement, we do not know how bad the Irishman’s shoulder injury actually is.
So, optimistically thinking, perhaps “The Celtic Warrior” could return at any point, being ready just in time for the Royal Rumble.
Potentially returning to eliminate Dominik Mysterio and set himself up for one final chance at the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 42, Sheamus could be in line for a much greater role on WWE TV once he’s back.
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5. Noam Dar
Noam Dar’s WWE career has been plagued by long-term injuries. Not after his most recent return in mid 2025, he got injured again.
While there’s no certainty on when the Scottish star will be back in action, fans will be holding out hope to see him have a sustained run on TV again once he is fit.
Without any of his Meta-Four stablemates around in NXT anymore, maybe it is time, to bring Supernova 11 up to the main roster?
Dar is a wrestler with almost two decades of experience in the ring, and bringing him in during the Royal Rumble Match would help establish him as a star to watch in 2026.
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4. Chad Gable
American Made leader Chad Gable is currently out with a shoulder injury, with no concrete return target being in place since he underwent surgery.
However, recent reports have suggested that Gable could be nearing a comeback, and with the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 42 around the corner, it seems likely we could see that sooner rather than later.
Imagine this: the current El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) is already in the ring, only for the returning Chad Gable to unmask and attack Kaiser. In addition, The Creed Brothers finally get a reason to return to TV after a prolonged period of absence from Raw.
For this reason, and many others, Gable is one of the most exciting names to potentially return at the Rumble.
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3. Seth Rollins
The former leader of The Vision’s untimely shoulder injury seemingly derailed a lot of plans for WWE.
While the likes of Bron Breakker have benefited from Seth Rollins‘ absence, hopefully, some of WWE’s creative plans can get back on track if Rollins manages to return sooner than expected.
Rollins himself hopes to return in April, but what if that is all a lie? Maybe we are fooled, and the entire Vision will be eliminated at the hands of Rollins inside the 30-man Royal Rumble?
It would be a great Royal Rumble moment and a shockingly fast recovery, one final late nod to John Cena’s insanely quick injury return at the same event in 2008.
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2. Elton Prince
Kit Wilson has been trying to establish himself as a singles character on SmackDown as of late, given Elton Prince’s continued absence due to injury.
Little is known about Prince’s status, with fans left to hope that we see Pretty Dealy reunited in full at some point in the new year.
If he is almost nearing a return however, he could so during the Royal Rumble Match, helping Kit Wilson score a few unexpected eliminations in the process.
A special moment for a team with endless potential, hopefully this could then be the catalyst for more opportunities in 2026.
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1. Kevin Owens
In April, on the eve of his scheduled WrestleMania 41 match with Randy Orton, Kevin Owens announced that he was in need of neck surgery, which he eventually underwent months later.
Since then, Owens has only appeared on WWE TV once – that being during John Cena’s last match, where he shared an embrace with the 17-time world champion along with many other legends.
The severity of Owens’ injury means that a return to the ring is uncertain, and the Royal Rumble would likely come too soon when speculating about a potential return date.
However, if, somehow, Owens was fit, able and medically cleared, just imagine the reaction when if his music hit as the No.30 Royal Rumble entrant.
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