- As noted earlier, Randy Orton was injured at last night's SmackDown tapings in Indianapolis during the Falls Count Anywhere main event against Wade Barrett. Orton has been removed from this week's live events.

Word backstage was that Orton suffered some sort of back injury and it has to do with at least one of the discs in his back. Orton could miss up to 6 months of in-ring time, causing him to miss WrestleMania 28. An official update from WWE should be available soon.

According to F4Wonline.com, It was announced at tonight's WWE SmackDown live event in Detroit, Michigan that Randy Orton will be out of action for six months. This means that Orton will miss WrestleMania 28.

WWE was offering refunds at tonight's live event to anyone who wanted them, since Orton couldn't appear.

WWE.com has released details concerning Randy Orton's condition following an injury he suffered at Tuesday's SmackDown taping, including how long The Viper could be sidelined.

Although the full extent of his injury remains to be seen, WWE physician Dr. Michael Sampson examined Orton and updated WWE.com about his condition.

"Randy suffered a herniated disc on the L4-L5 level on the left side, and that’s resulting in pain and weakness down his leg." Sampson explained. "He's going to need some time off for rehab, anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy."

WWE.com adds that the injury could keep him sidelined for a few weeks.

Sheamus will replace Orton in Street Fights against Wade Barrett at WWE live events this week.

- Regarding Randy Orton, there have been a number of different ideas on how to handle his injury creatively, since at one point he was set to win the Royal Rumble in his hometown of St. Louis.

Officials have discussed having Orton do a surprise return late in the Rumble, win it and then take more time off to heal leading into WrestleMania 28.

Keeping him off the Rumble and having him return around Elimination Chamber to set up his WrestleMania match has also been discussed.

– It was reported Sunday that Randy Orton, who is out of action after suffering a herniated disc on the L4-L5 level on the left side, would be returning on Jan. 16 Raw SuperShow in Anaheim, California. He is now scheduled for all SmackDown events beginning on Jan. 17.

Randy Orton posted an update on his back Tuesday night on Twitter:
“I’m getting alot of q’s bout my back. What happened is I herniated a disc (leaked disc fluid) between my L4-L5 in my lower back.
“Had som estrength loss in my left lower leg. Time off is to let the inflammation go down, and try and strengthen the muscles int lower back”
“The Barrett barrage should have picked a steeper flight of stairs.”