WWE RAW star reportedly planning early return after almost 4 months

WWE RAW is in its third week of the Netflix era, and superstars across the company are hoping to get a spot on the flagship show. Sources are now revealing how a top talent is planning to return soon after an unfortunate incident last year. The star is set to resume his momentum-gaining run.

Ilja Dragunov joined WWE in February 2019 after making his name around the world. After becoming WWE's first legitimate Russian-born male superstar to debut and win a title, the Moscow native was called to RAW in the 2024 Draft. He began mounting a solid run until suffering a torn ACL while losing to Gunther at a non-televised live event on September 28.

The Mad Dragon has been on the shelf for almost four months. Sources initially expected Dragunov to miss 6-9 months of in-ring action, but Fightful Select reported that the 31-year-old could be returning sooner than later to the RAW roster and ahead of schedule.

Dragunov has been training for his comeback at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando this week. It's telling that Ilja was not there to rehab his injuries but to train. The two-time NXT Champion was engaged in traditional training and wore no support gear for his previous injuries.

There has been no significant talk of immediate creative plans for Dragunov to make his return, and it remains to be seen if he is set to come back imminently. However, all signs point to Ilja returning soon and during WrestleMania Season.

Dragunov is expected to remain on the RAW roster, but it will be interesting to see if officials resume the push he was under at the time of his injury. There have been online rumors of Ilja returning during tonight's RAW episode, but that was not confirmed.

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