These days in sports, it seems like watching the timetable on returning athletes from Chicago is becoming a trend.

For the NBA, fans still await the return of league MVP Derrick Rose. And for WWE fans around the world, many still wait on word for what's going to happen with one of the biggest stars in the industry in five-time WWE world champion CM Punk.

Ever since the "Best Wrestler In the World" split from the WWE on that infamous Jan. 27 night after the Royal Rumble -- which forced WWE owner Vince McMahon and the company's creative team to drastically alter their WrestleMania 30 plans -- rumors and sightings continue to run wild regarding the company's controversial star. Most recently, Punk was spotted giving a motivational speech to little leaguers in his hometown Chicago. Quite frequently, Punk, a noted hockey aficionado, has had his picture taken at rink side during the Chicago Blackhawks' latest NHL Stanley Cup playoffs run, some with his fiancée, former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee. He's even appeared in a special video segment celebrating his beloved Chicago Cubs' 100th anniversary of their home field of Wrigley Field.

But the one place he hasn't been seen is anywhere near a WWE ring or anything involving the sports entertainment giant -- well, unless you count this week's aired video ranking him No. 3 among all-time WWE villains in a fan-voted poll. Even with new stars on the rise in WWE, like reigning world champion Daniel Bryan, the rugged Roman Reigns and the enigmatic Bray Wyatt, the absence of the "Voice of the Voiceless" has been well noticed by fans and, frankly in the programming (one would be hard-pressed to say that the program hasn't felt like it was missing something).

The latest rumors, however, indicate that that could change soon -- or at least, it should change. With WWE's next PPV, Payback, scheduled to be in Chicago in a few weeks, the latest buzz has speculated that Punk may send shock waves across the pro wrestling landscape with a return to WWE at the pay-per-view. Some, in fact, argue that Punk not only could but should -- must, even -- come back at that specific event for the company that launched him into stardom in the place where it all started for the Second City Saint.

However, is that necessarily the best move for CM Punk at this critical juncture of his career and his life?

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Let's take a look at what happened last year.

Punk, who was also reportedly close to quitting at that time as well, took time off before returning after a two-month break at Payback, also in Chicago that year. The result was Punk riding a tidal wave of momentum that had early buzz going on that he was being picked as an early favorite to win the 2014 Royal Rumble and headline Wrestlemania. Of course, we all know what happened next: Batista came back around mid-winter, and the creative team penciled him in to win the Rumble in a main event match-up seemingly no one wanted against Randy Orton and to headline the company's biggest PPV. All the momentum, all the hype that surrounded Punk's initial return went by the wayside, and the popular wrestling star ended up leaving.

What would be the point of retrying this again? It would just have the same results: Punk comes back, he'll get his major push for about three, maybe four months, but without a way to sustain that push for the long-term -- and without the full commitment of WWE's creative team in doing so -- the result would be Punk once again taking a backseat during Wrestlemania season while other big names that the company may be more inclined to favor (John Cena, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Batista, etc.) get slotted into the main event for the company's biggest PPV. And that simply won't do for a man who has stated repeatedly in the past that headlining Wrestlemania was one of his biggest dreams and goals in his professional career. Repeating the same unsuccessful formula that saw him slated out of the main event of the biggest PPV in wrestling hardly sounds like something Punk would be interested in at this point in his decorated career, when he finds himself at a crossroads of whether to give wrestling one last run or to sit back, relax and enjoy his fortune and his life from now on.

Then, of course, there's another problem: Punk's hurt. His litany of nagging injuries from years of abuse that his high-impact, high-risk style of wrestling has wreaked upon his body have been widely reported. While Punk's been on the sidelines since January, chances are that he'll probably need more time than a meager four or five months to physically heal and to get himself back into the mental mindset that he needs to tour 200-plus days of the year and perform at the high caliber that fans have come to expect from him.

As much as this may disappoint Punk's fans, a return to wrestling at this juncture would be ill-advised for the Chicago grappler, no matter how badly fans may want him back. If and when he does return -- and right now, that's a big "if" -- if he truly is serious about getting that Wrestlemania main event spot, Punk would be smarter to target a late return, say around Survivor Series or even at TLC in December. The attention, hype and momentum would carry him right into the Royal Rumble, where he may even be penciled in as the winner of the event and punch his ticket to the big dance at WrestleMania. The timing would literally be perfect, though Punk would do well to make sure that his return doesn't coincide with another big star's - -say, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson or Lesnar -- in order to get the biggest bang for his buck. And in that case, Punk's best bet may not even be returning this year at all but rather waiting until the big part-time sharks are clear of the waters so he can make his big splash.

However, fans shouldn't hold their breath. We've been hearing the reports of how burnt out and tired and unhappy Punk was before he left. If those reports are true, then this isn't a man who should be rushing back to the squared circle in a few weeks; this is a man who needs a break. He needs to catch his breath, rest, heal mentally and physically and then -- and only then -- start considering whether or not a WWE return is in his future. And the smart money says that we may have to wait a long time before that burst of static and the tune of "Cult of Personality" blaring in a WWE arena heralds the return of the "Best in the World" once more.

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