Add as a preferred source on Google Chad Gable revealed new details about the serious injury that took him off WWE programming in 2025, during one of the most important stretches of his career.
In a new episode of his YouTube documentary series, Gable explained that his rotator cuff surgery ended up being more serious than expected. The procedure took place in Birmingham, Alabama, and was handled by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas.
According to Gable, the main surgery went well and lasted less than an hour. However, while the doctor was working on his shoulder, he found an issue that had not fully shown up on the scans.
“The surgery went well. We fixed everything we were supposed to, but while Dr. Dugas was in there, he found that the biceps tendon in my shoulder was pretty much destroyed, to a level he didn’t know, because imaging doesn’t always show everything. So he fixed that too, since he was already in there. A little bonus surgery for Gable.”
Chad Gable explains why he needed a bonus bicep surgery.
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) June 12, 2026
“Surgery went well. Fixed it up just like we were supposed to, but while Dr. Dugus was in there, he found the bicep tendon at the shoulder was pretty much completely shredded to a degree that he did not know because the… pic.twitter.com/2CEpRHBpgq
Gable also said Dugas was impressed that he had been able to keep wrestling with that level of damage in his arm. According to the doctor, it showed how much of an elite athlete he was, but his recovery would depend on patience and not trying to rush the process.
The injury came at a delicate time. Before stepping away, Gable had been in the middle of his run as El Grande Americano, a character that became one of the most talked-about parts of WWE programming.
During his absence, Ludwig Kaiser took over the mask, leading to a match between the two at AAA Noche de Los Grandes on May 30. Kaiser won the Mask vs. Mask Match, forcing Gable to reveal himself in front of the Mexican crowd.
Since then, Gable has been repositioned in WWE through a redemption storyline, trying to make up for the disrespect he showed toward lucha libre. On this week’s RAW, he even helped Rey Mysterio and Penta after an attack by Rusev and Ethan Page.
With that, Gable’s new chapter in WWE carries even more weight, now that the audience has a better understanding of how complicated his recovery really was.