Reason For Drew McIntyre's Absence Revealed

Drew McIntyre was not present backstage at Raw for the second week in a row - according to a report from PWInsider.

The reason behind this seems to be that McIntyre recently underwent surgery to fix a lingering injury. The date for his return, however, is unclear - as is his current status. PWInsider's piece states:

'The word is he should be back as soon as WWE doctors clear him, which may be as soon as the next set of TV tapings.  We are told McIntyre is ready to return already and it's WWE's call as to when that will be.'

This could imply that McIntyre has been cleared by external doctors, and is simply waiting for WWE's medical team to give him the green light, or it could mean that two different sources have provided slightly different answers.

Regardless, it doesn't seem as though Drew will be on the sidelines for very long. WWE have reportedly aimed to have him healthy for TV in October - a very important time, given the new SmackDown deal kicking in, the move of NXT to television, and the rise of new competition in the form of AEW on TNT.