Over the course of the past few weeks, WWE star Matt Hardy’s future has been the subject of much speculation, with the latest reports indicating the former Raw Tag Team Champion is taking an indefinite leave of absence from in-ring competition to treat several nagging injuries.

During SummerSlam weekend in New York City, Hardy worked in a backstage capacity for WWE, to test the waters for a possible new role in the company should his in-ring wrestling career come to an end as a result of the current injuries he is dealing with.

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, following the September 7th WWE Live Event in Birmingham, Alabama, during which Matt Hardy competed, alongside Bray Wyatt, in a Triple Threat Raw Tag Title match against The B-Team and Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, Hardy was asked by a fan not to retire. The report claims Hardy responded to the fan by saying “unfortunately, I don’t have a choice. This was probably my last match ever.”

While Hardy ended up working the rest of the weekend live events, he teased on Twitter that the September 9th live event match was “Woken” Matt Hardy’s final bout, which some people interpreted as a possible tease for the re-emergence of his “Broken” character, but most feel it was a retirement tease.

The Observer notes Matt Hardy was moving during his last set of live event matches as if he was hurting, and while retirement is not yet official, it is a strong possibility depending on how his body takes to the upcoming rest and rehabilitation.