WWE reportedly has an early target in mind for Rhea Ripley’s return to the ring following her recent knee surgery.

Ripley confirmed that she underwent surgery after suffering a torn meniscus, putting her WWE career on hold while she begins the recovery process. While an exact timetable has not been publicly announced, a new report suggests WWE is hopeful she could be available for one of the biggest events on the 2027 calendar.

Writing in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that the current hope within WWE is for Ripley to be cleared in time for the 2027 Royal Rumble.

The event is scheduled to take place in February at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Meltzer wrote:

“Well, it looks likely now that this will end up being the women’s title and not the interim title, since Rhea Ripley just had knee surgery. The hope right now is that Ripley would be back for the Royal Rumble show.”

Ripley’s injury has already forced WWE to make significant changes to its Women’s Championship picture.

SummerSlam featured a ladder match to determine an interim champion, with Chelsea Green emerging with the title while Ripley remained sidelined. Initially, there had been optimism that Ripley might not face an especially lengthy absence.

However, following confirmation of her surgery, Bryan Alvarez has reported that there have been rumblings about WWE potentially dropping the “interim” designation from Green’s championship reign.

Such a move would indicate that WWE is preparing for a more extended period without Ripley as an active competitor.

Ripley has not competed since WWE’s summer tour of Europe. Her most recent match took place at a June 3 live event in Lisbon, Portugal, where she joined Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton to defeat Fatal Influence.

Her last televised WWE match came just days earlier at Clash in Italy on May 31, 2026, where Ripley picked up a victory over Jade Cargill.

There remains plenty of time for Ripley’s recovery timetable to change, but Royal Rumble 2027 now appears to be the event WWE is hoping will mark her return.

Life update.
After just under 14 year in wrestling and doing sports my entire life… It’s caught up to me. Surgery was never a first option for me, but it got to the point that it was needed…
First one down…
Hopefully no more…

I’ve survived, now it’s time to start thriving… pic.twitter.com/wmuD1qQv97

, RheaRipley_WWE (@RheaRipley_WWE) August 6, 2026