Steph De Lander talks neck injury, taking a TNA hiatus
Steph De Lander has checked in with an update on her health issues.
As noted, the women’s wrestling star appeared at the TNA Victory Road 2024 special last Friday, where she was expected to team with Matt Cardona to take on PCO and Rhino, only to announce that she would not be competing and required neck surgery.
Following the show, De Lander has appeared on TNA iMPACT, where it was noted that she is expected to be out of action anywhere from six to ten months.
On the latest episode of her official podcast, “That’s Cooked,” she elaborated on the subject.
“I need to take care of myself,” she said. “I need to take care of my neck so I can have a long career when I return. Every wrestler’s worst nightmare is getting told that you can never wrestle again, right? But that’s not even taking into consideration the risks of paralysis, serious neck injury, and all of that kind of stuff,” she explained. “So even just from a career standpoint, I’m going to do everything that I can to avoid getting told I can’t wrestle, right? So, if I have the option to do this surgery, which would be a fusion of C5-C6, discectomy, and recover and come back, which is a surgery that lots of wrestlers have had previously. I’ve spoken to multiple wrestlers that have had the exact same surgery and have returned to wrestling, and they’ve all said that they feel [like] a million bucks, that it’s the best thing they ever did. They’re so happy they did it. I’ve heard so many people have really positive experiences, which is what I need to hear.”
De Lander continued, “I’m gonna do this while, while I can and while it makes sense. it feels very, very reckless when I want to have a long career to risk a really serious neck injury. So that’s kind of where I’m at. That’s the answer for everyone. It’s going to be a fusion of a C5-C6. Is it career-ending? Absolutely not. How long am I going to be out? Probably six-plus months, maybe a little bit longer, and that’s just the way it is.”
