After 5-hour left shoulder surgery, Roelly Winklaar is unsure of his bodybuilding comeback.

 

Recently, veteran bodybuilder Roelly Winklaar was admitted to the hospital for shoulder surgery. The long-time competitor hasn’t competed since 2021, sparking rumors that he might be retired. This recent surgery may indicate that Winklaar is planning a return.

Injuries have the potential to drastically change an athlete’s career. You could be on top of your game one day, looking to establish yourself as a premier competitor, and the next day, find yourself in a hospital bed, hoping your injuries can be mended. While some injuries might prompt an athlete’s retirement, others are reversible. It seems that Roelly Winklaar is hoping for the latter.

One of the most popular and massive bodybuilders in the modern era, Roelly Winklaar has established himself as a staple in the sport. Consistently cracking the top five at the Olympia in 2018 and 2019, as well as winning the Arnold Classic Australia in 2018, Winklaar proved that he was one of the best bodybuilders in the world. However, since that time, we’ve seen Winklaar’s placings slip. At the 2021 Olympia, we saw Winklaar drop to eleventh place. Later that year at the Romanian muscle, first pro, we saw Winklaar place ninth.

In a recent post to social media, Roelly Winklaar was filmed on a hospital gurney moments before going under the knife. According to the post, the surgery took place in Brazil.

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If everything goes smoothly with the surgery, there’s a chance we could see Roelly Winklaar back in action as early as 2023. But it remains to be seen if he’ll be back to his old self. For now, we’ll have to wait