An injury has kept her sidelined for more than six months now, but Bianca Belair is hoping to make her WWE return soon. Belair suffered a hand injury while competing in a praised triple threat match against Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY at WrestleMania 41 this past April. While there were reports a few months ago that Belair was expected to be cleared after SummerSlam, that did not end up happening.
On a new episode of BET's 106 & Sports that aired this week, Belair detailed her injury and said the recovery has been more complicated than expected.
"So I broke my knuckle, not my finger, I broke my knuckle, I broke the joint," Belair said. "It's something that I thought was going to be a very straightforward, you know, 8-12 weeks. It's been almost six months at this point."
She then explained the moment the injury occurred during the match at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. "But it was WrestleMania. I was in a triple threat with Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY. And we were going to the top rope, because that's what we do, and we came off the top rope and Rhea landed straight on my hand -- and it just crushed everything in my finger. So it's been a crazy journey. You know, being an athlete and having an injury, you rely on your body and now my body's not doing what it's supposed to do. But I'm hoping that I can be back in the ring soon."
Belair has made a couple of WWE TV appearances while out of action, including serving as the special guest referee for the No Holds Barred match between Jade Cargill and Naomi at Evolution on July 13. While Belair stated she is "hoping" to be back soon, recent reports from last week indicated her recovery has been "rough" and that she may "remain on injured reserve through the end of the year."
Those reports suggest a return in "the early stages of 2026" near the Royal Rumble may be more likely. This would delay any potential confrontation with Jade Cargill, who captured her first singles title in WWE by defeating Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women's Championship at Saturday Night's Main Event on November 1.