R-Truth reveals he nearly lost his leg during his recovery from the quad injury he suffered in 2022 during a match on NXT against Grayson Waller. The 3,987-time 24/7 Champion returned to the WWE in November 2023, but he almost didn't, thanks to a dangerous infection.

Truth (who celebrates his birthday on 19 January) appeared on Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg. R-Truth explained the terrifying news his doctor gave him:

"I had a hole in my knee. I had five different bacteria that caused the infection along with MRSA, staff, and their cousins and kinfolks. It started off as a routine quad tear. I tore my bottom quad. They went in and I guess it could have happened during surgery. I went to get the stitches out and we found out that the bacteria, the infection, was eating from the inside out so that's where the hole came from. The doctor said, ‘We gotta get this under control. If we can't get this under control, I'm gonna have to think of options.’ He was straight shooting with me. He said, ‘You're in the woods big time. We have to get this under control.' It would not heal."

R-Truth's already serious quad injury turned into something even worse. Although medical staff worked tirelessly to cure R-Truth, things looked bleak:

"Then I had to go three months, I had to have a wound VAC on. It was a VAC on my knee that kept sucking the old blood up and putting the new blood, all that stuff, like I had to wear that for six weeks all along with a PICC line that I had to have for eight weeks. I did that, and once all that was over with, the stitches started coming out on their own. So I had stitches coming out of my knee by itself, so my body wasn't agreeing to it so I had to get surgery for a third time and the infection was still there, so I had to get another PICC line as well. It was a good four months or five months of just trying to kill the infection, slow it down, stop it, and I'm going mentally crazy because there was a chance, he said, the other option was amputation. You know what I'm saying? So to go from doing the 24/7 stuff, running around, doing things with my kids, to NXT, me and Grayson Waller tearing it down and doing things to stopping and then getting told this? It was a big reality check man. It was a pump the brakes moment.”

H/T The Ringer and Wrestling News

R-Truth isn't alone in having to deal with post-operative infections.

The Dangers of Wound Infection

Although the medical profession continues to improve at leaps and bounds, post-surgical infections remain a serious problem. The National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine notes:

Postoperative wound infection is a common healthcare problem. The process of wound infection is complex and involves an interplay between several biological pathways at the molecular levels. Wound infections account for high morbidity and mortality. Current data indicates that surgical site wound infections account for over two million nosocomial infections in patients who have been hospitalized in the United States.

H/T National Library of Medicine

Thankfully, R-Truth is doing well, and the WWE Universe have been able to see him work his incredible style in the ring as well as his enduring ability to make fans laugh. R-Truth's current quest to join The Judgment Day has kept fans laughing ever since R-Truth defeated JD McDonagh to become a member of the group (at least that seems to be R-Truth's belief, mistaken or not).

R-Truth Adored By Millions

To say that R-Truth is a fan favorite would be an understatement. R-Truth is adored by the WWE Universe for his ability to entertain in the ring and more importantly, his genius-level talent at comedy. R-Truth can take the biggest pile of Wrestlecrap and turn it into gold. A prime example of this is how he took the seemingly dead on arrival 24/7 Championship and turned it into a weekly comedy segment that fans looked forward to. If it wasn't for R-Truth, the title would quickly have become a prop and likely disappeared within months, if not weeks.

With a WWE career dating back to 1999, R-Truth has accomplished much in the wrestling world. His early run in the WWF as K-Kwik showed promise but it was his time in NWA-TNA Wrestling where he came into his own, capturing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship twice (becoming the first African-American wrestler to officially capture the title) and other titles in the fledgling promotion.

A return to the WWE led to more success for R-Truth, with multiple championship runs, including the United States and WWE Tag Team Championship (not to mention his many 24/7 title reigns).

It's great news to hear that R-Truth is back in action and that he battled through this terrifying experience. What do you think of R-Truth's incredible medical journey? What do you think is next for him?

Photo Credit: WWE