Kurt Angle has provided a health update on Randy Orton, who has not been on WWE television since May, when The Usos defeated RK-Bro in a unification title match on an episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

Orton was attacked by The Bloodline to be written off television following the match. WWE anticipated the back injury would require surgery and force him to miss the rest of the year.

Orton’s back injury is so serious that he would have had to retire if he didn’t undergo surgery. The latest word was in September when it was reported that there was a lot of concern about the severity of Orton’s back injury.

This is according to Angle, who said the following on the latest episode of the Kurt Angle Show.

“Your back controls everything. You can’t do anything when your back is hurting. I’ll give you an example. Randy Orton just had surgery on his back. He literally couldn’t do anything, and this surgery is hopefully saving his career. But that’s how much back problems can affect you as a pro wrestler,” Angle said.

Last week, Orton was spotted in Birmingham, Alabama, where WWE often sends talents for surgery or rehab.