In the AEW Grand Slam 2023 event, Adam Cole suffered an unexpected and serious ankle injury in which he developed fractures in three distinct areas.
New information about Cole’s injury surfaced, making it evident that his injury was so severe that he needed a bone from a different person during the surgical process, as his ankle had completely fractured.
Cole recently opened up about his injury on the podcast “The Takedown on SI.” There, he revealed the seriousness of his injury that became clear only after his first operation – an operation that was supposed to last one hour, but instead, took triple the time.
The AEW star realized that his ankle was in worse condition than initially thought, which necessitated another surgical procedure not more than a week later. As a result, he required more screws in his ankle and a bone from a donor since an integral part of his ankle had utterly disintegrated.
During his second surgery, the operating team preferred to use a cadaver bone instead of a metal plate, since the latter could potentially restrict movement.
Cole extended his heartfelt thanks to the organ donor and their family, acknowledging that their decision to donate is likely going to make his recovery journey smoother. He drew attention to his left ankle, which received the donor bone, as feeling significantly different from his right ankle, but he accepted this as a part of his healing process.
In his words, “The first piece of news that I heard was, your ankle is way worse than we anticipated. You have to get another surgery in seven days. So, not only did I have to get double the amount of screws in my ankle, but also, I had to get someone else’s bone put into my ankle because the bone piece within my ankle just completely disintegrated. Incredibly thankful to [the donor] and the family,” Cole said. “It’s certainly a better option. I definitely notice a difference in my left ankle compared to my right one, but I think that comes with the territory.”
At the WrestleDream 2024 event, Cole marked his comeback to AEW television, setting his sights on MJF.