NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa will undergo neck surgery Thursday.

WWE.com reports that Ciampa had a medical evaluation earlier today. It was determined he will require an anterior cervical fusion.

According to the Mayfield Brain & Spine Clinic, “Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a surgery to remove a herniated or degenerative disc in the neck. An incision is made in the throat area to reach and remove the disc. A graft is inserted to fuse together the bones above and below the disc.”

Tommaso Ciampa is expected to miss significant ring time while recovering. He was scheduled to defend the NXT Championship against Johnny Gargano at NXT Takeover: New York during WrestleMania weekend.

WWE is holding the next round of NXT TV tapings tonight from Winter Park, Florida. There is a strong possibility the title will be vacated tonight, with a new champion crowned at Takeover.