A short vignette that aired tonight on NXT signaled a return for Karrion Kross.

Following the strap match between Cameron Grimes and Dexter Lumis, a vignette aired showing a vulture. The video ended with Kross saying ‘tick tock’, his trademark phrase.

Kross acknowledged the vignette on Twitter, writing “Think about the future.”

Kross has been out of action since winning the NXT Championship at TakeOver XXX on August 22, suffering a separated shoulder during the match. He vacated the title on the next episode of NXT due to the injury.

When asked about a Kross return this week in a Q&A with Fox Sports’ Ryan Satin, Triple H said it was just a matter of timing.

“He’s one of those guys that, again, you want to run through a brick wall for,” he told Satin. “But, he’ll run through the brick wall for himself. That’s the other thing. He’s not here to sit back and go, ‘Man, I hope this heals well.’ He’s going to. If it doesn’t heal well, it’s not on him. It’s not on lack of effort. He did everything conceivable to get there and he’s ready to rock and roll. It’s just a timing thing now.”