Rob Van Dam Injury: Updates on WWE Star's Status and Return

WWE superstar Rob Van Dam was mysteriously absent at the Battleground pay-per-view, where he was scheduled to participate in the Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal. 

Van Dam was revealed as one of participants in the match earlier this month, but was simply missing in action Sunday night without mention from the broadcast.

WWE briefly touched on the topic in its official recap of the event:

"Although scheduled to be in the bout, RVD did not compete due to injury. Stay with WWE.com for more on RVD's condition."

By all accounts, Van Dam was still scheduled to appear on the show as late as Sunday afternoon, when he was seen on Twitter interacting with fans in regards to the match:

The Miz went on to become a three-time Intercontinental Champion, with the belt up for grabs after Bad News Barrett suffered an injury and was forced to surrender it due to his inability to compete. 

For Van Dam, it's a missed opportunity to hold the strap for a seventh time in his illustrious career, although it would be misguided to rule out his absence as part of a bigger storyline. That said, the method in which his absence was handled seems quickly assembled.

If one had to guess, The Miz was due to win the title all along with his recent return and role in a movie, but RVD's absence was notable and clearly hurt the match.

It was a bigger loss for fans, who have had the pleasure to watch a rejuvenated RVD over the past year. He has been in memorable feuds as of late with the likes of Bad News Barrett and Alberto Del Rio, and his recent performance in the Money in the Bank Ladder match for the briefcase was both a highlight of the show and a testament to his stellar in-ring ability at the age of 43.

Van Dam just recently competed against Del Rio on Raw last week, though an injury wasn't reported following that match.

For the time being, the locker room appears to be without one of its key performers. How it impacts future plans for the beloved wrestler remains to be seen.