Tommaso Ciampa has been out of action since suffering an unfortunate neck injury. This injury would require surgery, forcing him to vacate the NXT Championship in March 2019. Now, Triple H has given an update on Ciampa’s progress and information regarding his potential in-ring return.

“He is getting very close,” Triple H said following NXT’s debut on USA Network. “When you come down to the end of-unfortunately I’ve been through a lot of these, when you come down to the end there is this point and time when you are just chomping at the bit.”

He continued, explaining that “You’re ready to go, you feel like you can move the world. And yet, the doctors are still like, ‘Give it a bit more, take it slow.’ That last couple of percent to getting to 100% is the most frustrating part for an athlete because you feel like you can take on the world but you can’t just quite yet. He’s ready, he’s as close as he can get. He is the racehorse right now, stomping and pulling at that gate. When that doctor tells him to go, he’s going to come flying out of there.”

With NXT seemingly being treated as WWE’s third brand now, the previous main roster planned for both Ciampa and Johnny Gargano may be shelved in favor of a continued NXT run.