WWE champion suffers freak injury just days away from WrestleMania... as fans are left shocked over blow 'the size of a boulder' dealt in star's latest title defense

A WWE champion has shown off a sickening new injury just days away from WrestleMania.

The 40th edition of WWE's flagship show will take place in Philadelphia this weekend, with the company preparing for its biggest two nights of the year once again.

A plethora of matches will take place across Saturday and Sunday night, including high-stakes matches featuring the likes of The Rock, Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes.

One of the matches will be a six-team ladder match for the tag team titles, currently held by The Judgement Day duo Finn Balor and Damian Priest.

Just days out from the event, however, Balor has shown off a gruesome injury on social media, though it is unlikely to keep him out of The Showcase of Immortals.

A WWE star has been dealt a freak injury just days before they are due to perform at WrestleMania

Finn Balor showed off a head injury he suffered at a house show in New York on Sunday night

He took to social media to show off the size of a blow to the head that he suffered at the event

Balor and Priest will defend their titles against Awesome Truth, New Catch Republic, DIY, The New Day and A Town Down Under in a ladder match that will see them, in theory, be up against it in a bid to retain their titles.

The pair have reigned since September, when they defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at Payback to take gold to their Judgement Day faction that also includes Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh and Rhea Ripley.

There was a brief moment of doubt over Balor's participation on Monday, however, when the Irishman took to social media to reveal he had suffered a head injury.

In a post captioned 'Easter Egg', Balor can be seen starting a video with his back to the camera before slowly turning round to reveal a huge bulge on his forehead.

The injury appears red raw in the video and seems to show swelling on the right side of his head, with the injury assumingly caused during in-ring action.

Balor teamed with Priest to defend the pair's titles at a house show in Syracuse, New York on Sunday night against The New Day's Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.

As is common in house shows, the champions retained, but it seemed to have come at a cost for Balor. 

It's not the first time the star has been dealt a serious head injury, with his skull busted open in a Hell in a Cell match against Edge last year, leaving him needing 14 staples to close the wound.

Balor will team with Damian Priest (pictured) to defend his tag team title at the weekend

Fans were left concerned for his injury, with one branding the blow as big as 'a cocoanut or a boulder'.

Another added: 'You're always injuring your head man be careful,' while a third said: 'Damn Finn I hope you’re ok you and Priest have Mania this week.'