“Sent his lil bro instead lol…” Tyreek Hill remarked after his scheduled face-off with Noah Lyles was scrapped and replaced by a race against Lyles’s brother, Josephus. Shortly after Hill ran a 10.15 s 100m on June 14, he shared the Homer Simpson bush meme on June 17, following Lyles’s announcement at Cannes (June 16) that the race was off. The event, planned as a Times Square sprint showcase, was canceled with Lyles citing “personal reasons” and “complications”. Hill, meanwhile, kept racing, running a personal-best 10.10s at the ATX Sprint Classic on June 28, where he beat Josephus in their heat. But Lyles still didn’t show up.

Not just that, Lyles hasn’t competed in any of his primary sprint events, the 100m or 200m, in over 11 months either. His last professional race was in April, where he ran a 45.87s 400m at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational. He then withdrew from the Adidas Atlanta City Games in May, citing ankle tightness, a precautionary move that marked his first reported injury in six years. That absence fed more questions when the race against Hill also fell through. For many fans, the optics weren’t great. Some comments even read: “Noah won’t race him so he beat his brother.” But Noah had scheduled his comeback already. 

The London Diamond League, scheduled for July 19, was already identified by Lyles as his next stop. On May 23, he said, “My road to defending my world titles in Tokyo in September goes through London.” Reflecting on his history there, he added, “I’ve had great experiences there the last two years, running some of my fastest times, and I look forward to another in July.” His most recent 100m in London came in 2023, when he ran 9.81s, just shy of his personal best (9.79s, set in Paris during the 2024 Olympics). It’s this context, paired with the recent activity on his social media, is why fans now believe he may be returning soon.

On July 7, Lyles dropped a low-profile black-and-white Instagram reel showing himself undergoing rehab with a specialist. The caption was a single line of scripture: “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” – Matthew 4:1. His fiancée, Junelle Bromfield, added: “⏳🙏🏽.” 

There was no caption promoting his return or teasing a race announcement — only a visual of targeted bodywork and a single biblical verse. The reel focused on physical recovery, showing his lower leg being treated, possibly for the ankle issue that had sidelined him earlier. Toward the end, after a series of painful-looking stretches, Lyles rises slowly from the bench. As he stands, the ambient sound deepens, fuller, more resonant, a subtle cue that a return may be taking shape. 

But, the understated part still didn’t go unnoticed. With no official announcement yet, fans have turned to the comment section to express what many now suspect — that his return is near.

Noah Lyles’ fans are rooting for his comeback

Most of Lyles’ fans are on the same page after this reel dropped. One of them said, “Here we go, the journey to retain Double Gold starts soon 👀.” Well, late but finally, some fans believe Noah Lyles is now on the way to retaining his 2023 100 and 200m individual World titles.

Another user commented, “They have awoken the beast😭💪🏾” Now who is ‘they’ here? Probably the trolls who have been undermining Lyles this season. Or maybe his challengers. Because a lot of such comments had been making waves on the internet since the Noah-Hill race got called off. Thus, fans feel that it’s probably time to give back after all the silence.

Some fans were even confident that his form would come up to be just fine. In fact, better than others. One such supporter said, “He about to wreck everyone’s expectations for their season.” Well, a few veterans like Justin Gatlin have named Kenny Bednarek to be a “front runner.” Others have had great seasons on paper. But some fans believe that all of this will be under threat if Noah Lyles comes. Another one with a similar reaction said, “Noah Lyles about to smoke everyone on track 🔥🔥🔥🔥 let’s go champ 🔥🔥🔥🔥”

So the next stop for Noah Lyles as of now looks to be the London DL. There he will not just be a participant but the reigning champion who will look to defend his 100m throne. No wonder a fan wished for him to leave his haters speechless. “Good luck in the London Diamond League, can’t wait for you to silence the haters once again,” they said. What do you think? Can Lyles pull this off?