Kofi Kingston Undergoing Surgery, Return To WWE Action Delayed

Kofi Kingston seems set to miss out on WrestleMania 39 as it has been confirmed in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that he will be undergoing surgery for his injured ankle. 

The New Day member suffered the injury during the March 3 episode of "WWE SmackDown" when Drew McIntyre hit a flip dive onto a number of wrestlers outside the ring, unfortunately landing on Kingston's ankle in a fluke accident. It had originally been hoped that he would just be out for a few weeks and could avoid surgery, which led to his WrestleMania status being described as "touch-and-go." 

However, with Kingston now confirmed to be undergoing surgery he will certainly miss out on the Grandest Stage Of Them All, at least from an in-ring perspective. The surgery is going to push his return back as it will now take the former WWE Champion longer to rehabilitate from, but there is no official timescale for how long he will be on the shelf. Last night, before the story, he shared stories of kindness he experience from the residents of Birmingham, Alabama, where the surgery will occur.

Kingston has recently finished up a run on "WWE NXT" where he and Woods had claimed the "NXT" Tag Team Championship, competing regularly during their time on the black and gold brand against the likes of Pretty Deadly and Gallus. He and Woods had returned to working predominantly on the main roster, and Kingston had been set to compete in the number one contender's fatal five-way match last week on "SmackDown." 

However, due to the injury, he was replaced by Xavier Woods. In the end, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre won that match at the exact same time and will now compete tonight to determine which man faces GUNTHER at WrestleMania for the Intercontinental Championship. One person it will not be is Kingston, but could he still spread the positivity at WrestleMania through a promo or backstage segment?