Report: Doctors rule out Nikki Bella WWE appearances, so she won't be able to be ringside when Brie retires

Charting athletes return from surgery is tricky. Even with something less major like shoulder surgery, we've seen varied recovery timetables for wrestlers. When it comes to something major and possibly life-threatening like a neck injury, like Nikki Bella's rehab from spinal fusion, reports seem to vary from day-to-day.

When the basic message in all the reports is "doing what they tell me to do, hope to be back soon", how we process them depends on the tone with which they're delivered. That's why the Instagram report from Nikki over the weekend sounded great, and then seeing her in New York with John Cena yesterday raised hopes even further.

A new report from Ryan Satin at Pro Wrestling Sheet will dampen those hopes, or at least put them in a more realistic context.

According to PWS' sources, the plan had been for the longest reigning Divas champ in WWE history to make an appearance on Raw last night, setting up possible involvement in WrestleMania's five-on-five tag match featuring her sister, Brie, in a non-wrestling role.

Those plans, and any ideas Nik had about a full-time return to wrestling, were ruled out after her latest meeting with her medical team.

Bella was reportedly told that even a small bump at this point could seriously set back her recovery, meaning she will be unable to corner Brie as she wrestles what's expected to be her last match or matches in Texas. The report also says a July CAT scan will reveal how well the bones in her neck have fused, and provide answers on if she'll be able to wrestle ever again.

Doctors have already informed her that, best case, she'll only be a part-time performer in the future.

We'll continue to hope for the best, but if Pro Wrestling Sheet's report is accurate, it sounds like there's a long way to go for Fearless Nikki.