Samoa Joe could be making his return to the squared circle sooner than originally anticipated, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
"Samoa Joe should be back in the ring by the end of this month after arthroscopic knee surgery on a torn meniscus," Meltzer wrote. "He told Sky Sports he's needed the surgery since he started in NXT, but didn't want to take the time off."
Joe told Sky Sports last month that his recovery was "going really well" but he has "only been able to perform at about 80 percent capacity since joining NXT" in May 2015 due to a lingering injury.
"Back then I had no chance to take time off because of the WWE opportunity, before I was just treating the knee problem with ice and elevation at home.
"Now it's the best I've ever felt, it really is. I also needed nasal surgery as I've broken my nose about eight times in my career so I was only breathing at around 60 per cent. You have no idea how invigorating it is now."
Joe confirmed to the British newspaper that he's expected to be cleared before WWE's tour of the U.K. and Ireland in November.
On Friday, Cageside Seats also reported that Joe was rumored to return within the next month, specifically after the TLC pay-per-view on Oct. 22.
