Roman Reigns' lengthy absence from WWE programming is reportedly set to come to an end in the near future.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), the expectation is that Reigns will be back by SummerSlam at the latest.

The report added that plans at one point called for Reigns to return two to three weeks before SummerSlam, and if that remains the case, he could return at any moment since SummerSlam is scheduled for Aug. 3.

Reigns has not been seen in a WWE ring since WrestleMania 40 in April when Cody Rhodes defeated him in the main event of Night 2 to win the undisputed WWE Championship.

That ended a historic 1,316-day reign, which is among the longest reigns of all time and the longest since Hulk Hogan held the WWE title for 1,474 days in the 1980s.

During Reigns' absence, Solo Sikoa has taken over leadership of The Bloodline, referring to himself as The Tribal Chief. In addition to kicking Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman out of the group, Sikoa brought in Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and Jacob Fatu.

Recently Solo has been taking some shots at Reigns in his promos, saying that Roman wasn't man enough to defend the WWE Championship on behalf of The Bloodline at WrestleMania 40.

Also, on this week's episode of SmackDown, Sikoa said that if Reigns ever does return to WWE, Roman will have to acknowledge him as the new Tribal Chief.

In the closing segment of Friday's episode of SmackDown, Sikoa and his new Bloodline viciously attacked both Rhodes and Randy Orton.

Previously, The Bloodline beat Rhodes, Orton and Kevin Owens in a six-man tag team match at Money in the Bank with Solo pinning Cody, so all signs point toward a WWE Championship match between Rhodes and Sikoa at SummerSlam.

If that happens and it turns out to be the main event, fans will undoubtedly expect a major return in the form of Reigns or The Rock, or perhaps even both.

With SummerSlam on the horizon, it would make the most sense for WWE to wait until then to bring Reigns back rather than burning the surprise on a random episode of SmackDown beforehand.

Reigns had one of the most successful runs in WWE history while he was world champion, and he became more popular than ever despite being a heel since fans appreciated what he was doing.

The WWE Universe has seemingly been waiting for a reason to fully embrace Reigns as a babyface, and if he shows up at SummerSlam to confront Solo and The Bloodline, then he will be fully cemented as a fan favorite.

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